Second Chances for Angels of death
by SephirothJenova
Summary: Yaoi. KujaXZidane SPOILER ALERT! Takes place at the end of the game and after. Zidane goes back for Kuja, but kuja is intent on dieing anyways. What happens after the Lifa Tree roots come crashing down?
1. Default Chapter

Title:  Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later. 

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. I just torture them and put them into odd, complicated situations. **Snickers**  anyways… There will be Yaoi. So I'm warning you now. I don't wanna hear any complaining from you whackos. The first chapter is ALLLLLL Spoilers!!! So I hope you beat the game before you read this! This is a major spoiler alert right now! Do not read if you don't wanna spoil the ending for yourself!

Now… Onto the fanfic .

Chapter 1.

_….Farewell Zidane…._

_That voice…._

A young man around sixteen years of age stood looking out over the landscape before him. He had shoulder length golden blond hair, and aquamarine eyes- and a tail. Yes. A tail. He seemed to furrow his brows some in confusion, as he looked around for the mysterious voice. 

He's alive… 

A giant tree placed in the middle of a dessert hell. It's roots were massive and large, and threatening; stretching  out as far as the eye could see. The roots seemed to be ripping themselves from the ground, thrashing about violently as they did so, threatening to destroy everything that destroyed _them_. The grounds he stood on were shaking now violently, and the boy's comrades were calling out to him that they _had_ to go.

The thought of the pale haired man alive, flooded the young boy's mind. He had never wanted the powerful mage dead in the first place- perhaps only to beat the man sense-less, but never death.

The blond genome sighed.  Dealing with his comrades was no problem. After all, this was 'his' moment, wasn't it? As long as he returned…Then things would be fine. Things however, were unstable. He didn't know if he would _ever_ return.

Well… it was now or never.

Walking up to the edge of the cliff which was right beyond the edge of the Lifa Tree, he peered out towards the violent, and devastating reaction of the Lifa Tree. It, like him, did not want to die. It did not wish to perish as it must. Zidane knew this. However, what must be done, must be done.

_I hope he's okay_. The blond thought to himself.

Aquamarine eyes centered on the tree as he took a step forward, bringing his hands to cup the sides of his mouth as he called out, as if hoping- no, begging  and pleading that the mage would hear him.

"Kuja! Can you hear me?! I'm coming to get you!!!" The blond shouted, praying he'd get a response. A sign of some sort, that the other man was not dead.

You still have time… 

_Forget about me and go…_

The blond furrowed his brows slightly, shaking his head as a grunt escaped the hollow of his throat. He wouldn't have any of that kind of talk. He despised 'downers' or people who were always ' negative '. He'd have to have words with Kuja after all this.

You planning on dieing?! The hell you are! 

"Shut up and stay where you are!" He commanded furiously, his voice edged with annoyance and irritation.

I don't understand you… 

The blond smirked at the irony of that. _Nobody does…_

¤'-.,,.-/'¤

The pale haired mage took deep breaths, as he began to feel more weaker and thinner by the second. He felt light headed and cold as he lay sprawled out on what appeared to be either a rock or a giant leaf stemming off from the roots of the Lifa Tree. He coughed a few times, wrenching his hand over his heart as the pain dully throbbed in his chest before eventually subsiding. His hand fell to his side as his eyes slid closed for a brief moment as he simply concentrated on his thoughts, rather than his shallow breathing.

I've been wrong this whole time… 

He failed. He failed his creator's purpose; he failed his own, and when he realized what it meant to live, there was nothing he could do. He had been too late, and now he was paying for his mistakes. Or that's how he saw it, anyway.

Life… Death… In the end, wasn't it all the same? Everything he'd done, he regretted. He wasn't even given enough time to apologize for his crimes. In a few moments, he'd probably be dead. Until then, he was left to think about all the homes, lives and people he destroyed. God, he hated himself. He hated the monster he had become. He had been beaten into reality and for that he was grateful.

He could feel himself slipping into an unconscious state. Soon the darkness would claim him, and his death would justify for all the pain and sorrow he had bestowed upon the innocent. He sighed, letting his ice blue gaze slip closed.

Soon… I'll be at peace… 

After a few moments, Kuja heard foot-steps approaching his direction, not far from where he was. However, he was intent on dieing. He did not care if he was to be rescued or not. He was getting what he deserved. He simply waited for the darkness to claim him.

" Hey, you alright?!" Came a farmilure voice.

The pale man strained to look over his shoulder. "Zidane…?" He couldn't believe it.  Had he not told the young man to leave him be? He had furrowed his brows on confusion. Why had the boy come back for him anyways?

The blond hesitated a moment, seeming to have been standing on a ledge near the mage. He looked about, wondering if there was any other way to get where Kuja was, before realizing there was none. So he simply jumped from where he stood, landing beside the older man who lay helplessly sprawled across the leaf suspension. 

Zidane continued to glance around their surroundings with a concerned frantic expression, suspiciously glancing around for another way out if it came to that. There was no saying when the Lifa Tree's roots would come crashing down around them during the last stages of it's dieing state.

Kuja had sighed and turned away, looking off to his side. His hair was strewn across the dirty platform he lay across, his arm draped loosely over his waist, and his clothes were ripped and torn badly. The pale man suffered dark bruises which were apparent across his body, which did not complement his feminine features, leaving him to look like a beaten whore.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go…"

Zidane crossed his arms, staring down at the older man for a moment, hardly having to even think about the question before replying softly. " Wouldn't you do the same for me, if you knew I was in trouble?"

Kuja had winced and remained silent. _Probably not_.

Zidane sat down next to his older 'brother', leaving a short silence between them before responding quietly. "….Never mind."

Maybe Kuja didn't care? If that was true, then why did he use most of his energy to teleport the others to safety- if that WAS the case, anyways? There was another pause of silence which seemed to linger in the air between them. The sounds of the violent reaction of the Lifa Tree's roots, were muffled above them. Eventually, Kuja broke that silence, coughing a bit before sighing, his eyes sliding closed for a moment.

"…Your comrades were able to escape?" He asked, lifting his eyes to the blond again.

Zidane nodded, staring at his feet. "Yeah. I knew you had something to do with it…"

Kuja gave a week smile. " I'm glad they made it." _I'm glad I did at least one thing right…_

The blond nodded again in agreement, still not having enough courage to meet the other's eyes. Never had they ever once sat like this, in a peaceful way, just talking. Without violence. It felt bizzar to the blond, but it was also something nice for a change. He hated having enemies.

"Yeah well, it's our turn to get movin'."

Kuja's expression saddened as he looked away slightly. _Don't you understand? It's pointless. What life would I live? _The mage found it easier to brood then to accept the fact that someone might actually care about him. Never in his life had anyone ever been this… affectionate, or caring towards him. Garland had always used Kuja. Garland had always beat the mage, and abuse him. It was no wonder that Kuja was so untrusting and fucked up.

"…I don't deserve to live, after all that I've done." He said softly, his voice barely audiable in the dead calm of the cavern they were in. "I'm useless to this world…" He added, his voice having become an edge of a bit more bitter then he had intended.

Zidane's expression twisted into that of sympathy for the older man's words, and continued staring ahead of him quietly. _Kuja, I really pity you. Here you were the most feared man to walk Terra and Gaia, and your giving up?!_  He thought to himself. Another silence lingered in the air once more before he spoke, hardly sure of himself for what he was saying, but it was how he felt.

"No ones useless… You helped us escape, remember?"

Kuja winced. _Please Zidane, don't make this any harder for me…_

"After you guys beat me, I had nothing left… Nothing more to loose. Then I finally realized what it meant to live…" The older man sighed, feeling  more and more tired. "I guess… I was too late…" His words became distant and raspy. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. 

_So tired…_ He thought to himself. He gave the blond a side long glance before slowly closing his eyes, his lids growing heavy. _Goodbye, Zidane…._ Then, the darkness claimed him.

There was a long pause of silence, and the blond furrowed his brows. Glancing over, he saw Kuja had stopped moving, or slipped into unconsciousness. Aquamarine eyes went wide as the blond dove to the other's side, grabbing poor Kuja by the shoulders as he shook him violently. _No, no, no, no, no, no!!!_

"Hey! Don't you go dieing on me, alright?!" Zidane nearly screamed, shaking the man, trying to rouse him without success.

Just then, a large crash was heard above the two in the cavern. This alerted the blond's attention as he jerked his head upwards to look above. His eyes widened in absolute horror, as the Lifa Tree's roots began gushing down towards them, never showing it's mercy as it spilled it's wrath upon the tress passers.

Zidane gasped. Shit!!! Glancing down at the fallen man beside him, then at the gushing roots above them, he instinctively threw himself over the other man's body to protect him, his eyes squinting shut as he wrapped his arms around the other's body, clinging to him in hopes that they would survive, as the roots came crashing down….

Everything went black…

End of chapter 1.

Author Comment:

Aiyee…. Yes. I copied a lot of the dialog directly from the game. And this isn't where the actual fanfic starts. You could say this is the opening chapter. But whatever. Yeah. Things are gonna get intresting from here on out. Oiyo. Now I have to type up all the crap from my note book. But I'll post this first since I already have it on my computer now. And I'm sorry if this first part seems boring as hell! It will get better- I promise!!!- oh and the next chapter should be longer too. Probably a little shounen ai too. 


	2. Allot of thinking

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later. Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi. Not in this chapter though- but there is shounen ai. Sorry ' I'm getting there though!  
  
Chapter 2.  
  
The blond genome groaned slightly. Everything was a massive swirl of confusion. His body ached all over from head to toe, and it felt like he had been through a massive airship wreck of some kind. The only other time he had remembered ever being this sore, was when Tantalus first took him in, when he was around the age of 4.  
  
Starting to get up, he realized he couldn't move. '_I can't move!!! Am I paralyzed?!_' Panic struck his heart as he squirmed, trying desperately to sit up- before hitting his head hard against something above him. Fuck! He whimpered to himself as he stretched his arms out a bit, feeling around. 'Ok, maybe I'm not paralyzed...' His aquamarine eyes slid open as he glanced around, trying to get a sense of where he was. However, only the darkness greeted him. Again, he tried to move, only to realize something was confining him to this small prison.  
  
Suddenly, his attention was suddenly drawn to the soft groaning sound he heard beneath him. He blinked for a moment when he felt something brush against his leg as well. _What the hell?_ He tried to see, but couldn't. The only thing he could make out in the dim darkness, was the outline of a body beneath him. It took him a few moments to realize who it was, after the memories of the previous day came back to him.  
  
"Kuja?" he called out softly, unsure of himself.  
  
"Mmm...." There was a brief groan before a paused silence, and then a soft reply came from the other man pinned beneath him. "Yes."  
  
Zidane sighed with relief, relaxing a bit now that he knew Kuja was not dead or dieing. "I'm glad you're still alive."  
  
The mage grinned to himself as he thought how ironic that sounded at the moment. Considering all that had happened, he didn't exactly expect that from the younger boy. Though Zidane had come to save him, Kuja had figured it was out of pity, just to be with the mage during his last moments of life. "I don't think your friends would say the same thing."  
  
The blond furrowed his brows a bit. He hated that kind of attitude, but he'd have to learn to deal with it. After all, this was Kuja in question. Though the mage was probably right, Zidane couldn't bring himself to put himself on the same level as Steiner. No one had wanted him to go and bother helping Kuja. With Zidane's personality though, it went against his nature and everything he stood for when it came to someone's life. No matter how evil they were. Well... maybe in certain cases. Like this one for example.  
  
Ignoring Kuja's comment, he sighed. "Hey, can you move? Are you injured or anything?"  
  
The mage's tail twitched a bit, having become free from all the events of earlier, and simply prodded the youth in the side. "I'm not paralyzed, if that's what you mean. Other then the injuries you and your companions gave me earlier, and the fact that I'm a bit weak..." He paused for a moment. "...That and my hair is probably a mess..." He added quickly, and grimly. " ..I'm okay."  
  
Zidane winced at the former comment about giving Kuja the injuries he had, but shrugged it off no less due to the side comment the older man had added. He didn't feel too bad if the other was willing to complain about such insignificant things such as his hair. "Sorry."  
  
"No need. I think the only way you would have been able to get through to me, was by beating the sense into me. Literarily." Kuja chuckled weakly, reaching up and patting Zidane on the head. This equaled in a simply nod from the blond.  
  
"Any way... Since it seems that we're not paralyzed, my only guess left is that the Lifa Tree's roots compacted around us." Zidane said simply, his tail twitching ever so slightly as it trailed along the mage's thigh.  
  
Kuja just lay there, weak and exhausted. He was too weak to use any magic to even attempt to get them both out of there. But... Why would he want to escape anyways? Wasn't he supposed to die now anyways? Speaking of which, why was he still alive to begin with? In any case, he didn't see them getting out of their prison of roots any time soon. On top of things, He didn't have any potions of ethers with him. Of course, he never did to begin with.  
  
"I'm too drained to use my magic..."  
  
Zidane sighed. "And I can't move either..."  
  
"...We could just sit here and die." The mage suggested, his tail wrapping itself around the blonde's own furry appendage, causing the blond to freeze almost instantly. His eyes widened as his tail twitched to become free, at the uncomfortable feeling of being stroked, by the other Genome's appendage. After all, their tails were the most sensitive parts of a genome's body- save for 'other' areas.  
  
"N-no... I don't want to stay here and die." The blond said hostilely, sitting up with a quick haste as a reaction from the mage's administrations, causing him to bang the back of his head sharply against the confined cell of roots compacted around them. This produced a yelp from the younger man as he flopped back down on-top of Kuja. Rubbing his head, Zidane let out a soft grunt. "Arg..."  
  
The older man simply chuckled under his breath, his tail retracting itself from the poor violated boy's own appendage, twitching and laying to rest at his side. He could feel the other's body pressed atop of his own, and he was simply savoring the warmth the boy had to offer, considering Kuja felt extremely chilled to the bone. _'Amusing...'_ Nonetheless, he was entertained.  
  
"And how come?" Kuja asked.  
  
This had caused Zidane to inadvertently shiver, making him feel rather uneasy around the older man. It was that same kind of laugh that made his skin crawl. Kuja was actually the only person to make him feel that uneasy. Naturally in the past, whenever Zidane felt uneasy about someone, it wasn't long afterwards he would find out if that person was truly dangerous or not. Then the feeling would go away. Kuja however, was unpredictable. He had actually not expected Kuja to change in the short amount of time after his defeat. However, in this instance, Zidane was not going to fall back just because he was a little nervous. If anything, it taught him to move forward with a stick. A big stick. Coming back to reality, he didn't have to really think about Kuja's question. It shouldn't have been even asked in the first place- if the mage had brains, anyways. He was a little annoyed actually, and his voice didn't falter at all. In-fact, Zidane empathized just how irritated he actually was with that.  
  
"I beat your sorry ass, and Necron's for a reason. After all the trouble I've gone through, I have no intentions of sitting here to rot in the grave when I haven't even reached my mid-life crisis. I made a promise to someone special to me, and I plan to keep it." He snapped.  
  
This caused the mage to blink curiously into the darkness, not being able to see the blond, but simply imagining the look he was probably getting. He was a bit curious, and simply repeated softly "A promise...?" before continuing to ponder on what the blond was exactly talking about. It only took him a few brief moments to remember the dashing young princess- now queen- who accompanied the thief during their travels.  
  
"Your 'canary'?" the pale man asked.  
  
Zidane would never understand Kuja's speech patterns or why he titled people with such old English pet names. That wasn't any of his business- nor did he care to know either. He simply nodded, unsure of himself if he even considered Garnet 'his' to begin with. He had grown very fond of the young queen during their travels- perhaps even love. However, for some odd reason, it wasn't the kind of romantic love he had hoped for. She was beautiful in his eyes in every way- however... She didn't seem to have what he was looking for. He wanted a place to call home- Sure, Alexandria was a great place, and he wouldn't mind living there. To him, however, it didn't feel right. He didn't know if he would ever end up with Garnet any way. She was a queen, and he.. well.. He was some punk kid who stole shit for a living. He couldn't even imagine himself as a king.  
  
"..Yes?" he replied, shaking the thoughts from his mind. He didn't need to think about this now. He was more concerned with the man beneath him at the current moment.  
  
Kuja sighed with a hint of anger. _'He gave up his only reason for living, to come back to save a man who is already dead. How Ironic...'_ he thought to himself, furrowing his brows in the darkness as he shifted his body beneath the blond, trying to find a more awkward position, considering he couldn't be upset and be comfortable at the same time.  
  
"Zidane, tell me. Why did you come back for me?" he asked, his tail twitching violently to slap at their heels.  
  
This caused the younger genome to furrow his brows. Kuja was apparently upset about something- what, he wasn't sure of. He didn't even like the question. Mainly because he didn't know. When he thought about it, why the hell DID he come back? Because he thought the older man deserved a second chance? Forgiveness? Perhaps a chance to repent for his crimes? It was only fair, right? He figured so. Kuja did deserve a second chance. Everyone did. That and it was also something Mikioto had mentioned to the blond earlier as well. Something she had told him. One of the secrets behind Garland, the creations of the genomes, and... Kuja.  
  
"I believe you deserve a second chance." He commented simply.  
  
This produced a bitter laugh from the older man, which caused shivers to run up the blonde's spine. "Zidane dear, did you hear nothing Garland said? He said I wasn't going to last much longer- my soul isn't eternal. I'm dieing Zi-!"  
  
"Oh god, do you really believe all that?!" the blond snapped, cutting the older man off. "Yeah, some of the things he said were true... But your not dieing, Kuja." He was starting to feel weary and very uncomfortable, being pressed that close to someone, while knowing an argument was coming.  
  
The older man simply frowned at this. What did Zidane know? Why did he care? Kuja knew his creator more then anyone else. So well, it made him shudder with disgust. He despised the old man. However, it still didn't answer his questions. What did Zidane mean anyways? There was a long silence to follow Zidane's comment, before Kuja simply shook his head and snorted, breaking the awkward silence.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Zidane sighed. "Remember what Garland said before? 'You'd only last until Zidane grew' and 'Your only mortal'. Basically he was saying the obvious: you're a mortal like everyone else and I. And if you haven't noticed, I'm still a teenage punk, Kuja. It'll be awhile before I'm 'full grown'." Zidane hated bringing himself down to a lower level just the cheer the other man up. He was grown up in his own eyes, but to others he was still some punk kid. "I don't think your going to be dieing any time soon." He added, trying to bring an edge of humor to his voice to ease the edges.  
  
"But Garland said I was a defect..." Kuja replied, furrowing his brows some as his eyes slid closed, thinking it over. Zidane had to be wrong. "He said I wouldn't last..."  
  
"No. Mikioto told me something interesting while I was in Bran Bal. (Hope I spelled that right). What Garland meant is that your 'power' wouldn't last. When he said ' you'll be dead soon' he was actually talking about your mage abilities. You're loosing all your mage abilities, Kuja. "Zidane said, knowing Kuja wouldn't digest this well. If he knew Kuja, he knew the other would rather probably die than live without his magic.  
  
Kuja remained silent. He would live, but he'd be weak and vulnerable. Well, Garland did have a way of ruining everybody's fun. Ice blue eyes stared into the darkness, lost in thought. Kuja had a hard time digesting all of this. Was it true? He was having mixed feelings. Perhaps instead of dieing, this would be his punishment. Suddenly, Kuja felt all the guilt inside him begin to boil, as he felt sick to his stomach. He felt a hundred times worse, and his mind was racing a million miles a minute as he thought about everything. He had destroyed his entire home planet, his creator, caused war between nations, brought about chaos onto Gaia, and now just realized that he had done it all and fucked everything up, just because he misinterpreted a few words produced from an old geezer. Kuja sighed, letting his eyes slide closed as he went lax under the blond, his tail going limp beside him. Today was obviously not his day.  
  
Zidane furrowed his brows in the darkness. He could feel the older genome beneath him go limp and a heard sigh. He had hoped he did not upset the older man too much. Then again, that was a lot to digest too. Nobody could be certain for sure. It was something their sister had told him, and a theory that he had put together. Mikioto had told Zidane, that Garland was very metaphorical.  
  
The silence dragged on between them for awhile, and in the back of his mind, Zidane could simply imagine the sound of crickets at that very moment. He didn't know what would happen. Honestly, he hoped Mikioto was right, and that Kuja was not dieing. He wanted Kuja to live- but why? He couldn't seem to figure it out. Hadn't he wanted to kill Kuja not long ago? However, the blonde's thoughts were interrupted when he felt the older man beneath him begin to shiver. Though Kuja had felt like ice most of the time, he could not have grown cold. Not with Zidane lying on top of him. However, what sounded like choked back sobs, caught the thief's attention.  
  
"Kuja?" he asked.  
  
Almost instantly, the other man tensed and choked back his quiet sobs. He went silent for a minute longer, as he calmed himself enough to regain his composure in front of the blonde. He didn't want his former enemy to see him in this mental state of grief and pain. As if Kuja's pride had not been crushed enough.  
  
"You... you should have left me to die..." he said, his voice dripping with bitter grief and agony, as he shuddered his words.  
  
"Are you... Crying?" the blond asked, lifting his head slightly. Kuja? Crying? Those two words did not belong in the same sentence together. Not to Zidane, any way. It just didn't seem to fit. However, how was he to know? He'd never seen any other side to Kuja, other than his elegance and sadistic nature. Still.. The thought of the powerful mage crying was still unnerving.  
  
Kuja sniffed and let out a shuddering sigh. "All the things I've done... For reasons I misunderstood. You have no idea how awful I feel. I'm going to live the rest of my life with the guilt, Zidane. Knowing what I did and that I could have stopped it. That I could have lived differently... Instead, I lived a life seeking revenge against my creator and the world..." He furrowed his brows going silent a bit as he tensed under the younger boy. 'All because of you...'  
  
"So what... you want to die now?" Zidane asked, slightly bewildered.  
  
Kuja choked slightly, shaking his head. "God, Zidane... I should be dead!" He grunted, seeing the ironic state of the whole argument. "I can't believe I'm having this argument with you- of all people." He grumbled, his tail twitching now to lash at his heels again.  
  
"Ever heard of the words 'redemption' and 'forgiveness'?" the blonde asked, using his 'as a matter of fact' tone, his own tail flickering with annoyance  
  
The pale man went silent once more, sniffling ever so often as well as choking back his sobs silently; to savor what dignity and pride he had left, as the guilt continued to stab at him. This had caused Zidane to give up. It was useless to argue with a man who couldn't make up his mind on life and death. After awhile though, Kuja almost immediately stopped crying and froze when he felt the blond on top of him shift his weight, burying his face into the mage's shoulder to nuzzle him affectionately. Obviously, Zidane figured that trying to comfort Kuja would be better then arguing with him- not to mention it helped stop the mage from crying.  
  
_'Hey! It worked! He finally shut up'!_ Zidane mused to himself, beaming to himself in the darkness at his accomplishment. After awhile of this, Kuja began to relax under the youth. It was rare he received such affection, but it was one of his many weaknesses. Reaching up with a weak pale and thin hand, he gently began to run his fingers through the blond hair as he let his ice blue gaze slide shut. Due to the relaxing administrations, the mage let his tail curl around Zidane's in a loving manor. Zidane blushed a bit before relaxing as well, his own tail curling around the other's in response. In their own way they became understanding to one another. To Zidane, it was a miracle to get Kuja to finally relax. To the mage, he was simply content to have Zidane there for him. To know, that someone did care about him.  
  
The mage had so much to hate himself for. So much regret and anger. True, he had been jealous of Zidane when he found out he was to be replaced. However, he never hated the younger genome. He remembered the first time he met Zidane. He remembered he had just gotten back to Terra from a four year exploration and training mission in Gaia. Garland stood waiting for him in Pandemonium with a small child by his side: Zidane. He had noticed the blond right away. _'He was different from the others. He was like me... He had a soul...'_ Kuja remembered that Garland had wanted Zidane to learn a few things from him, and so the blond was sent off with Kuja for awhile. That had been the perfect chance for him to get rid of the brat. But... when the young child began showing affection towards the older genome, Kuja had gained a soft spot for Zidane. Nobody had ever showed him love before.  
  
It wasn't jealousy that brought Kuja to bring Zidane to Gaia and leave him there... It had been done out of love. He didn't want Zidane ending up like himself, or used by Garland for the old man's own pleasures. He didn't want Zidane to have to experience the same things he experienced. He didn't want Garland putting the boy through the same abuse. He left Zidane in Gaia hoping the boy would turn out better then he had... And he did. All these years later when Zidane showed up again, Kuja had become confused and thought Zidane to be an enemy, but that was not true. Zidane really did care about him. He didn't realize that until now... he owed Zidane so much...  
  
"Thank you, Zidane." The mage whispered.  
  
The blond simply stirred, having fallen asleep some time ago. This caused the pale haired man to smile some, as he studied Zidane's sleeping expressions. Though it was dark and hard to see, he could still figure out the sleeping form's expressions even in the darkness. Zidane still looked the same from when he was a child. Stroking his fingers through the blond boy's hair gently, he let the other know in his slumber that he was protected, before drifting off to sleep himself...  
  
End of chapter 2  
  
Author's comments: Oiiyo!!!!! I am SOOO sorry I haven't updated as fast as some of you would have liked. That's because I have a major lack of motivation as of late- also with the last two weeks, I had been working really hard for my finals. Yeah, work sucks like hell. I've also been really busy with a lot of crap IRL too. Cant really help it though. However, now that it's summer, I'll have a lot more time on my hands hopefully. Though I'll be putting most of my creativity for work, still. I should probably get more things done. However, I still have a billion websites I need to update and work on, write other stories, plus work on emotional relationships! Phew! Life is hard. However- enough about me and my problems. I just want to comment, that the third chapter isn't finished in my notebook. So it's going to be really, really hard for me to find motivation to do the next chapter. Xx though it does get interesting. Still... Please don't be mad with me if It takes me awhile to update again! -OH!!! And I'm tired of getting bull-crap about my spelling. Oo you know... "Dieing" is spelled correctly. A lot of people have told me I'm getting this wrong and say it's "Dyeing" well no. "Dieing" means 'dead' dieing. "Dyeing" means like... to 'dye' your hair, dyeing. Oo that's the difference people. So Yeah. I'm not wrong otherwise Kuja would be like... dyeing his hair or something. And Zidane would be like "Eh? O.o" 


	3. Escape the Cell

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi. I'm getting worn out on the spelling of the 'Die –Ing' thing. I'll just admit I dunno how to spell it and leave it up to you all. I guess because of the whole "dyeing" your hair thing, or the " die" death like thing. Oh well... I'm only human. Xx I mean, you all know what I'm talking about anyways... Any case, it's taken me awhile to actually update this chapter. Mainly because of a lot of hectic bullshit going on in my life at this time. But I'm trying my best to keep this going. SO here it is! '

Chapter 3.

The sound of soft breathing rose in erratic panting, before slowing then catching slightly. The simple motion of bodies gliding against one another seemed to decrease the amount of distance between them and further the friction and heat. It couldn't be helped in they're situation and surroundings. However, in this case, every motion was accidental. However, the mage was completely unaware of that.

"Uhhnn... Oh gods..." Kuja moaned softly in his sleep, arching up against the body above him in a weak plea as his slumber stated mind simply begged for more attention from his teasing tormentor.

Zidane, simply blushed and frowned at this turn of events. Since the blond had discovered an opening behind them in their confinement of roots, he had struggled to shimmy down Kuja's body in attempt to squeeze through the opening. However, the fact that he was only grinding against the older man, was not helping. In fact, it only added to Zidane's annoyance and frustration. Also, he was cursing the damned Lifa Tree. Why did it's roots have to confine them so 'close' together? He had to wonder. Perhaps the fates were simply mocking him.

"Kuja..."

The older man gasped some in his sleep and shifted under the blond uncomfortably, his own hips rocking upwards to press against Zidane's tightly, pinning the blond against the ceiling of the roots. This, caused Zidane's cheeks to burn as a soft squeak escaped his lips. He had not been expecting that. But to be more frank, he wasn't expecting Kuja to be having an erotic dream either.

"K-Kuja-! S-stop it and wake up!" the blond hissed angrily, loud enough to rouse the albino mage only slightly.

The older man groaned some and shifted. "Mm..." his silver tail curling up to wrap around Zidane's own fur appendage, and slowly began strokeing the length of the tail. This caused Zidane to jump slightly as he went to get up- forgetting about the ceiling above him, and hitting the back of his head hard against the roots.

"KUJA! Knock it off and wake up!!!" Zidane hissed, pulling his tail back in defense.

This managed to rouse Kuja as he stirred and groaned before finally waking up. Apparently Kuja had been having a rather good dream, due to the tight fit of his thong. This disturbed Zidane very much. Kuja was attractive indeed. Very lovely. More beautiful than most women he knew. However, he was not all that into men. Especially men who tried to destroy the world. And hopefully he had a Queen waiting back for him in Alexandria. Zidane wanted to try and stay faithful for once.

In any case, Kuja was being very difficult this morning.

"Mm.. Demanding brat." The mage spat some, his voice dripping with ice. After his tail uncurled from around Zidane, it straightened as if it too, were stretching out along with Kuja's legs and arms. "What do you want?.. I was dreaming."

This annoyed Zidane some. "Well, while you were off in 'La la land', I found a way out of here. Notice anything different about our exotic surroundings?" he asked.

Kuja looked around for a moment furrowing his brows slightly before noticing that their prison was much more lighter than it was the other night... which meant... Kuja glanced down past Zidane's head to notice the hole near their feet.

"I was trying to move, but you were moaning. It was a bit distracting. Not to mention..." Zidane stopped himself before saying anything else and shook his head. "Never mind... Long story short, I decided to share the good news with you." The blond snorted some, eyeing the albino with mild annoyance.

"Well then. If there is an exit, you might as well go." Kuja said quietly. Zidane didn't realize that Kuja had become depressed by this news.

The blond nodded and shifted his form on top of the mage. "Alright. I'll go check it out. Then I'll come back for you." He said slowly beginning to shimmy his way down Kuja's body again, coming to the edge as he began to crawl out of the hole. He did not realize however, how far down the bottom was from the hole, and ended up slipping off the edge of the platform, yelping as he hit the ground fifteen feet below with a dull thud.

Kuja blinked for a moment as he looked down towards the opening, slightly worried. "....Zidane?" he called out, growing more concerned when he didn't get an instant reply. However his worries were eased a few minutes later with a groan, mumbled cursing and a muffled:

"I'm okay!"

A few scurries and grunts later, Zidane's head popped up from the hole and he grinned his trademark smile at Kuja and waved for the older man to crawl to him. "Ok, your turn. Just slide down and you'll be okay." He said, giving Kuja a reassuring and trustworthy smile, reaching out to the mage in the dim darkness as he offered his help.

Kuja sighed and closed his eyes. This heart still throbbed with guilt from the pain he caused the innocent people of Gaia. He began to think to himself. No... more like contemplate. The circumstances of his actions would eventually catch up with him. How long was Zidane planning to protect him? Even if Kuja did manage to find some place in society, there would always be those who would remember and if not hate, try to attack him and take justice into they're own hands.

Zidane just didn't get it.

"I'm staying here Zidane... I don't have a promising life to live. No one would except me. Given the fact that I'm also loosing my powers, not only would I be worthless in trying to help you escape, but even if we did, I'd be helpless and weak. The perfect prey for bounty hunters." The older man shifted into a more comfortable position on his death bed.

This, did not sit well with the blond.

Aquamarine eyes narrowed into slits as Zidane simply glared coldly in annoyance at the older genome.

"Not this again... Gah." Zidane did not spend all that time, energy and effort in trying to convince Kuja life was worth living, then to have the mage snub him off. No. Zidane had other plans, and those plans would be carried out. He didn't care what Kuja said at this point. He was not going to let the other man have his way and die in self pity in a giant tree.

Sighing he rubbed the temples of his forehead then looked at Kuja with a commanding tone.

"Kuja Tribal... You get your ass down here this instant." He said, scolding the older man with a demanding, yet motherly tone. Something they both lacked in they're lives. A female roll model. Zidane had plenty of friends growing up however, so he got the general idea.

"No."

Zidane's eye twitched. His patience had been tried. "You don't have a choice in this matter." He smirked.

Kuja didn't have any time or warning before he felt the young thief latch onto him by the tail, and yanked him out of the caved room of roots.

Kuja yelped as he came crashing down about fifteen feet on top of his younger brother. Zidane was the safety matt. Whether he wanted it or not. The mage whimpered out of violation for his poor tail, then stirred before crawling off of the blond genome beneath him. Clutching his tail protectively with one hand, Kuja brushed himself off with the other, narrowing his eyes at the blond in a cold glare that could freeze an ocean.

"Don't you ever touch my tail again." He warned, turning to look down at the poor fur appendage, babying it with his fingertips. "That hurts more than you realize..."

Zidane had to regain himself before he stirred as well, getting up and snorting at the mage's outburst.

"Get over it." He muttered.

Glancing around he studied they're surroundings. They were still deep inside the Lifa tree, and it would take a day or two to reach the surface. The roots were everywhere along the sides of the cavern they were standing in. The entrapment they had spent the night in, was but a mere pocket compared the mess and tangle of roots that had to climb and weave they're way through. It looked like a maze. Clearly, they had a long journey ahead of them.

Thankfully though, there was more light here, from the large cracks at the top of the cavern, which was most likely the way out. From Zidane's guess, they were at the very bottom of the Lifa tree. No. It was most definite that they were located at the bottom of the tree. Zidane had remembered the first time he had came to the bottom of the tree. There had been a lake of shimmering water at the very bottom, so bright one could not see.

From the blonde's observation of they're surroundings, he took note of the thin layer of water that pooled in the crevices and slopes of the ground. There wasn't as much water as there had been before they destroyed the mist, but there was still a bit of it left over. Enough to bring Zidane's attention back to the mage.

Kuja groaned and began pouting as he held up the ends of his very tattered white skirt. Not to mention that the mage was also soaked in the front from the thin layer of water covering the ground. Sometime during the fight, or maybe when Zidane pulled him free from under the roots, his clothes had become torn. The only thing covering the mage's body now, was his leather thong, boots and upper body armor, but even that was beaten and torn to hell.

"Urg... My clothes!" The mage whined.

Zidane arched a brow, turning his attention back to Kuja finally and looked the man up and down from head to toe. Zidane himself didn't have as much of an issue as Kuja had. His own clothes were only torn in the pant legs, and perhaps his shirt a little. It wasn't as overwhelming as Kuja's was.

The blond however took note when Kuja bent over to retrieve a piece of his torn skirt and whimpered. Kuja looked amazingly much like a woman. So much that it frightened Zidane... But he was attractive.

"We'll get you some new clothes when we reach Conde' Peti. From there we'll go to Lindenblum and I'll take you shopping." Zidane gave the other man a reassuring smile, knowing full well Kuja would feel embarrassed until he was clothed again. "So you'll have to live with it until then."

The mage snorted some, then sighed, dropping the white cloth before hugging himself as he looked at the younger genome with a weak smile. He was trying so hard to make the best of this situation. Zidane's kindness was amazing to him. "You'd do that?" He asked, sounding like a shy school girl.

The blond simply nodded in response. "Yeah. Wouldn't want you getting raped or anything..." He smirked, brushing a lock of damp blond hair out of his eyes as he glanced around, looking for the next possible exit.

Kuja hardly found that comment amusing, and simply glared at the blond for that remark.

"You're the reason WHY my clothes are torn, you little ape!"

Zidane ignored the mage's comment as he glanced around. Finally he spotted a sloped area that perhaps lead towards the top, and began to jog off in that direction, pausing for a moment as he turned to look at the helpless mage and waved him over.

"Common! Lets go before it gets dark."

Kuja sighed and shook his head, running after Zidane.

And so the real journey began...

End of chapter 3

Author's comments:

Okay. That chapter took me forever to finally get typed up, because I never had time or motivation to get it on my computer. Finally however, I managed to do so. And I'm proud of myself that I finally got this put up after a month or two of procrastination. **Sighs** So yeah.

I don't necessarily care for how this chapter ended. I wanted it to go on a little bit longer. Actually this was fairly short considering what I had been planning to do. But I don't think I really had any ideas past this point. I've been simply transferring everything from my notebook online.

However, I don't have any more written other than this. Hopefully when I pick up the game again and start playing, I'll get my inspiration back. I think I'm going to start on the 4th Chapter tonight though. I have so many ideas flowing through my mind.

If anyone has and suggestions or ideas for what happens while they're trying to get out of the Lifa Tree, I'd be more than happy to hear them.


	4. Journy Part 1

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi in later chapters. Thank you all for the reviews! Granted there aren't as many as I had hoped, but I'm eager to start on this chapter now.

Chapter 4.

"Kuja! Look out!"

The mage turned to glance over his shoulder for a mere second before gasping, and lunging out of the way when a large splintered tree branch was thrown in his direction. The branch belonged to one of the tree monsters that resided inside the Lifa Tree. This monster, however, was much larger than the other's usually had been. That was beside the point.

The silver haired man landed in a heap just on the edge of the ledge he and Zidane had been climbing the whole day. They hadn't seen one monster the whole time. Once the sun began setting however, that was a different story.   
The mage winced, rubbing his upper arm when he went to push himself into a sitting position, glancing down at the scraped skin and furrowed his brows with mild horror. When he turned to look back to see if the creature was still there, his ice blue eyes widened in surprise when the creature began coming up on him. Slowly, but it was not far away that it couldn't do any damage.

Kuja held up a hand, using some of his strength to summon a firaga spell. However, the mage met with absolute horror when he could only cast a regular fire spell. He winced, knowing it didn't do much good, as it only singed the creature, making it more angry as it trudged closer to the silver haired genome. Kuja squirmed, trying to inch away, but inhaled a sharp breath when he almost fell backwards, his hands meeting the edge of the ledge. There were no walls to back into. It was a good hundred-foot drop on both sides of the narrow pathway. Which had concerned Kuja when they started climbing.

Zidane had simply told Kuja that they had to face the risks in order to get out. Kuja simply told the blond with his own annoyed approach: "That's why I wanted to stay behind." The remark didn't seem to gain Zidane's sympathy and so the younger man told the mage to simply shut up and keep marching.

Kuja had known it would be dangerous. Zidane would never hear the end of it later.

Kuja's attention was brought back to reality when he saw the creature that was now only a few feet away from him. This terrified the mage as he tried to summon up another spell to at least be able to defend himself. As it went to take a swipe at the fallen man, Zidane jumped between the tree monster and Kuja, using his daggers to slash at the creature with simple and graceful ease. In Kuja's opinion, it didn't take much to stop the creature. The tree monster groaned before slumping in two pieces, falling off the ledge of the path and down into the pit of the Lifa Tree.

The blond genome huffed, his tail swaying from side to side as he slowly walked to the ledge, peering down over the edge into the total darkness below. Nothing to be seen, but more or less making sure that the thing was out of sight and gone for the time being. He knew it wasn't coming back. Finally he sighed and glanced down at the older genome at his feet, tucking his daggers away.

Zidane was simply amazing. He hadn't seemed to have broken even a sweat in that battle. Not a single injury. Leave it to Kuja though, to manage to get injured by simply falling down. Zidane knew now that Kuja was not one for hand-to-hand combat.

When Zidane glanced down at Kuja, who was sprawled out on the ground, he had to glance away as the blood rose to his cheeks. Kuja was sprawled out, sitting up with his hands supporting him, his ankles out, and his knees drawn together, almost in a helpless delicate manor, one knee arched over the other, one shoulder slumped forward, the other one back, and his long platinum feathered locks of hair seeming to fan out slightly, a few locks falling into his eyes.

The mage was irresistible. To men and women alike. Zidane shivered. And with what little kuja was wearing due to the loss of his beaten clothing, it was hard for Zidane to keep out the mental images.

"You okay?" He asked finally.

Kuja shuddered; shocked that he hadn't been able to conjure up more magic than he had. Zidane was right. Kuja was loosing his powers. It disturbed the mage greatly, but it also explained why the older genome was feeling so tired lately. This incident however, only angered him. He eyed the scrape on one of his arms and felt weak. The only exception of an injury he had ever received with welcome arms, would be a worthy opponent that inflicts one. Not a tree monster.

Shaking off his thoughts, he strained to get up, brushing the tree bark off what was left of his clothing.

"You don't give me enough credit Zidane. A creature of such low status could never hurt me." He bitterly snapped in response, crossing his arms over his chest to hide his scraped arm. It stung, but Kuja never carried any potions with him ever. Mainly because he never needed them. Now he was wishing he did.

Zidane just stared at the older man, not having been expecting a lashing for asking if he was okay. However, Zidane knew that was how Kuja was. He sometimes wondered if Kuja was seriously a woman in denial. He sure acted like it, in the blonde's opinion. Nonetheless, Zidane shrugged and moved past Kuja and continued up along the path.

"Lets keep moving then. We should get as far as we can before it's completely dark."

The mage grumbled to himself and sighed. He was tired of walking. They had been walking all day. The most relief Kuja had gotten was when he had fallen onto the ledge and simply sat there the whole time. Of course, the fireball had simple worn him out even more.

Kuja grunted when Zidane was almost out of view around the corner of the path, and followed after him.

--

The two genomes had wandered for another four hours before Zidane decided that it was time to stop for the day. Amazingly, they had made it quite far towards the top.

They came to a relatively large area. The roots formed a circular tunnel that Zidane could see lead towards the very top. However, they couldn't access the tunnel because dirt and rocks had caved in, blocking the entrance of the tunnel.

Zidane sighed, shaking his head. Oddly enough there was much grass in the area. There were no signs of any monsters either. It was a safe place to stay for the night. Zidane walked over to the blocked tunnel and pounded on it hard, trying to see if he could break the wall. Unfortunately it wasn't weak enough to bring down. He shrugged his shoulders in distress and walked back and plopped down in the grass a few feet from the tunnel entrance.

"No luck. We'll have to figure it out in the morning." He stretched his arms out with a yawn and sighed, laying back on the soft grass and closed his eyes.

Kuja shivered and moved to sit across from Zidane. He brought his bare knees to his chest and curled up to try and keep himself warm. It was a failure and the mage knew it. He hated it in this place. His stomach growled too. He was cold, and hungry. To top things off, he had to sleep in the dirt and grass. He hated this place even more.

Zidane noticed Kuja had been quite for the last hour or so. Normally the mage would have been ranting about his hair or some trifle manor. Then again, the man was going through a lot too. He understood. However, at the same time the silence bothered him. Kuja was trying so hard to keep himself together while pretending that he didn't have any problems. The sound of Kuja's stomach caught the majority of his attention. So Zidane reached into his pockets and produced half of a South Gate Bunt Cake he had been carrying around for awhile. Granted he wasn't sure how old it was, it would still provide some sort of nutrients.

The blond held out the bunt cake to the mage. "Here," he said, placing it in Kuja's hands. "It's better than starving yourself."

Kuja blinked for a moment at the bunt cake that had been given to him, before he handed it back to Zidane. "You go ahead... I'm fine."

"Bull." Zidane snorted, handing back to Kuja yet again. "Just eat it and quit whining."

Kuja snorted and took the left over cake and practically inhaled the food. He had been starving all day. He was grateful to Zidane, granted his stubbornness.

Once the mage finished his unsatisfying meal, he realized how cold he was and went to curl up again, goosebumps forming on his skin as he tried to find warmth in what little clothing he had. He hated being cold. He hated this place. He hated what he did. He was filled with hate. So much hate... He had to get rid of the hate. He wanted to stop hating, but he couldn't seem to. He was so cold...

The blond genome seemed to notice this as well and grunted, sitting up and grabbing Kuja's arm and yanked him forward so that the mage fell in his direction. This caused the older man to help as the blond pulled him closer so that Kuja was lying down next to him.

"If you're cold, body heat always helps." He said, curling up against the mage to keep him warm, his tail wrapping around the other man's body as well.

"Zidane...." Kuja blushed slightly, looking down at the blond with confusion. "Thought you were annoyed with me."

"I am a little.... But I don't want you freezing to death either."

This caused the mage to smile lightly as he rest his head against Zidane's, his ice blue eyes sliding closed as he curled into the warm embrace. The warmth radiating off the other genome was welcomed greatly, to the older man's chilled body.

"I think after this, I'm going to start wearing warmer clothes...."

" How about you just start wearing pants instead?" Zidane smirked smugly.

Kuja glared, tempted to just throw Zidane away. Instead he pinched the blond, producing a yelp from him. A giggle to soon follow.

"Your terrible Zidane..."

The two soon become comfortable again in each other's embrace once again. This was the second time they were sleeping in each other's arms. Zidane liked the comfortable feeling. A faint memory came back to him from a long time ago. Once when he had been little, he remembered a comforting embrace just like this. A long time ago...

Eventually, the two closed their eyes and fell into a content slumber, holding each other in a warm entanglement of limbs, and soft breathing. Falling asleep to each other's heartbeats....

End of chapter 4

Author's comments:

Phew. Wow. That chapter actually came faster than I thought it would. XD It's a little bit longer than the third chapter. I think. Oh well. Guess it doesn't matter. And I already have ideas for the 5th chapter! Can you believe it? Wow. Inspiration really hit me this time. I didn't want it to end this way. But oh well. I didn't have much of a choice for this chapter. Which means I can make another!

AHH! Will they ever get out of the Lifa tree? Yes. They will. It's just taking me a long time to get there. It's so much easier and faster just typing up what's on your mind for the next chapter, than transferring over from a notebook. So the rest of the fanfic from here on is all free. Actually, I'd REALLY, REALLY like more reviews soon. I mean... Badly. I need some sort of new ideas. Or something... So anyways. Yeah.


	5. Journy Part 2

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi in later chapters. Thank you all for the reviews! And please be gentle with my horrid spelling and me. I fix what I can.

Chapter 5.

Morning came unfortunately to the two genomes. Zidane woke instantly when the sun hit the horizon; as if it was a natural instinct. Usually he enjoyed sleeping in on mornings. When he was part of Tantalus, the genome was allowed to procrastinate- well… not 'allowed' to, but he got away with it on many occasions. That all changed once Zidane met Garnet though and began roaming the plains of Gaia. It wasn't new to him, but he began getting used to waking up early before the monsters did. Sleeping in wide-open areas on the mist continent- or any other for that matter was dangerous. It was never wise to sleep in while napping out in the open where monsters could find you and easily tear you to shreds while you were unaware.

Zidane knew it was especially important in a place like this.

The blond stirred, sitting up and stretched his arms with a yawn. He glanced around his surroundings briefly again before blinking and glancing down when he felt Kuja roll over on his side. Kuja was still asleep and lay beside the blond. Zidane was mildly surprised he hadn't woken Kuja. Nonetheless he smiled faintly as he looked down at the mage.

Kuja was curled on his side, facing Zidane, his features soft and serine. The expression he had in his sleep however, was something Zidane worried about. Granted Kuja could be a stubborn asshole, Zidane still cared about him. If he hadn't, Zidane wondered why the hell he would even be here to begin with. Kuja seemed to have nightmares in his sleep, the way his brows furrowed together on that pale, strained and weary face. The blond couldn't help but sympathize a little and let his tail brush against Kuja's sides in a soft caress. As if to silently say 'I care'. In reaction to the simple gesture, Kuja cooed lightly in his sleep and his expression seemed to soften, as if the dreams became all the more better for the mage.

This seemed to appease the blond, and Zidane grunted lightly yawning again as he stood up where he was, and stretched once more, then walked over to the blocked entrance of the tunnel.

Curious, he tapped at the rocks and dirt. It didn't seem to be any good. He wasn't even going to bother trying to bust through. It didn't seem like it would do any good anyways. He turned away from the blocked entrance and sighed looking around for another solution. He noticed the tall grasses growing along the edge of the open clearing they were currently in, and walked over, recognizing a few faint yellow-weeded flowers. He furrowed his aquamarine eyes as he studied the plant before confirming that it was Gargant grass.

It seemed to be Zidane's lucky day after all. He sighed with relief and looked back towards the tunnel and noticed the roots went up over it, leading straight up to the top. With the help of a Gargant, they could reach the top of the Lifa Tree in no time, and then be on they're way. Zidane smiled with good fortune and walked back over to Kuja to wake him and give him the good news.

Zidane peered down at Kuja who was curled up in a ball- most likely to conserve body heat, and sighed. Kuja looked peaceful now, after the blonde's small gesture, and Zidane felt guilty about waking the platinum haired man. Kuja's arms were tucked under his body, trying to keep them warm, with his knees brought up in tight to his chest, his tail curling around his legs to keep himself in a warm position. His body was covered in goose bumps, due to the chilly morning air. His long hair fanned out beneath him to form a sort of pillow. Despite the fact that he was grimy and dirty, he still looked beautiful. The peaceful expression on his face was priceless. However the task couldn't be ignored, and Zidane was concerned about monsters that might find them sooner or later. He didn't want to stay and find out.

Kneeling down, he gently touched Kuja's shoulders and shook him lightly to wake him. Soft ice blue eyes drifted open hazily as the man tried to become aware of himself and his surroundings. It was obvious that he was still tired and exhausted from the previous day. Zidane knew however, that today would be no exception either. Kuja groaned lightly, straining his weak muscles to sit up. He shivered to the cool air around them and looked up at Zidane with a slight annoyed frown. He was obviously very tired. He didn't scold Zidane though. Kuja was tired, but he also didn't object to having been woken from his bed of dirt. He just gave the blond a confused expression of mild awareness.

"What is it…?" The older man asked, his tone filled with annoyance as well as his weariness.

"I found some Gargant grass and figured out a way to get us out of here." Zidane responded, standing now.

Kuja's eyes narrowed into slits now. He knew what this meant, and he didn't like it. He despised the idea.

"No fucking way." Kuja growled, moving to stand up. " I am not riding one of those…. Beasts." He sneered slightly, clearly not in love with the idea of having to ride a giant bug- bare back, and wearing very little himself. The mental image of Kuja clinging to the Gargant's back while screaming bloody marry was an amusing thought itself, however the mage was not entertained by this thought.

Zidane sighed, scratching the back of his head. He figured this to be the case and crossed his arms over his chest. Unless Kuja could summon up a spell powerful enough to take down the rocks and dirt blocking the tunnel, they didn't have much of a choice. Zidane wasn't too keen on the idea of spending the rest of his life here either. He had been sympathetic with Kuja up until this point however. Kuja didn't have any reason to really complain or object to this. Unless Kuja had been molested by a Gargant as a child, Zidane didn't care.

"Kuja, it's the only way we'll ever get out of here. If you can magically pull that silver dragon of yours out your ass, be my guest. Otherwise we are riding the Gargant." He snorted.

Kuja didn't have a response to that. He personally couldn't think of any better ideas, but he was not looking forward to riding the back of a giant insect. He had never ridden on a Gargant bareback before. He didn't want to know what it was like either. Unfortunately for him, the time for leaning was at hand and the mage would find out soon enough.

Zidane turned, walking back over to the Gargant grasses and picked one of the flowers, looking back at Kuja and motioned the mage over. Defeated, the older man grumbled as he followed Zidane over to an area with a raised mound of dirt. Zidane peered down over the edge to see that a root vine came up from the bottom, over the mound, twisted around the tunnel nearby and over, leading upwards towards the surface. Zidane smiled a bit at such good fortune, and waved the flower through the air as little pollen particles from the flower drifted down.

Kuja wrinkled his nose at this and eyed the younger genome suspiciously.

"What are you doing?"

Zidane blinked briefly before responding. "You have to wave the flower a bit. Gargants aren't usually very close by right away, so they wont know you're around unless the pollen particles are dispersed into the air. Gargants have a good sense of scent. They can smell things from long distances, so once they smell the flower and grasses they come running. The yellow gold color of the flower also attracts they're attention. To them it means dinner."

"I see…" Kuja wasn't all that impressed by the blonde's knowledge, but it would explain why he was waving his arm around like a moron.

It was awhile before anything happened. Kuja had been growing impatient, wondering when the creature would ever show up- if it ever did. He was cold and tired and just wanted to leave. Kuja craved his own bed at the Desert palace, or perhaps his home in Treno. He wanted to gorge himself with rich luxurious foods like he used to. Chances are however, that he would never live those luxuries again. Kuja contemplated throwing himself off the ledge at that point to just die and wither away. He wouldn't have to live and suffer in the aftermath of his chaos. Granted it was a proper punishment- to live among millions of people who hated you for destroying they're lives. Kuja was also living without his powers. The mage mentally sulked and brooded while the blond tried to get the attention of the Gargant.

Zidane glanced over to look at Kuja and saw the older man was deep in thought. That wasn't a good thing currently and Zidane knew what Kuja was thinking. Mainly because the older man was just staring off into the darkness off the edge of the ledge they stood on. However that wouldn't last long as Zidane's ears perked to the sound of the Gargant crawling up the roots to where they were. This caught Kuja's attention and the platinum haired man gasped, staggering back as the creature crawled up the root by them with incredible speed. It came out of nowhere- and by the time Kuja could even see the damn thing, it was practically in his face.

The Gargant turned and twisted it's head when it caught sight of the yellow flower in Zidane's hand, it's pinchers sliding back and forth as it seemed to practically salivate over the meal that was being waved in front of it.

Kuja shuddered not just from the cold, but also from the appearance of the beast. He had seen Gargant's before in his life, but he had the same reaction he always did. He inwardly groaned as he over looked the large insect like creature. He was not looking forward to this. Zidane simply pet the creature on the head and fed it the flower as a reward. The Gargant took the flower into its pinchers and began to devour its meal, contently pleased with the blonde genome's generosity.

Zidane finally turned to Kuja to see the older man glaring at him now, and sighed, shaking his head.

"Common. Let's go." He waved the mage over to him.

Kuja shook his head. "No way... Zidane, that thing isn't domesticated. Not to mention it's dirty." The older man whined.

Zidane arched a brow some at the other's words. He sighed and laughed lightly. He looked back at Kuja finally and placed a hand on his hip, holding the Gargant with his other hand. He gave Kuja a dubious look.

"Kuja… if I'm not mistaken, you were sleeping in the dirt last night, too. Were you not? Don't be hypocritical. Unless you can summon up some of that magic of yours to knock out the tunnel over there, I don't wanna hear any more bitching from you. Now get over here…"

The mage couldn't respond to that either. His glare turned into a pathetic moping expression and his shoulders slumped. Zidane was right. He hated it too. He despised the blond for it. After he managed to get over his pouting, he straightened and wiped his face clean of any expression of defeat. He still had his pride. Or what was left of it, anyways. Kuja compliantly stepped forward and took Zidane's outstretched hand, grumbling to himself as he went along with whatever the younger Genome wanted.

Zidane smiled after a moment, taking Kuja's hand and pushing the platinum haired man in front of him, shoving him closer to the Gargant. He had to snicker when Kuja shuddered. He took a step up behind the older man and held both of his hands, motioning to Kuja where to grab the Gargant to climb onto it. It took a bit of work to actually get Kuja to grab the thing, and when he did he let out a grunt of disgust.

"Arg…! It smells!"

"Quit your bitching …" Zidane grunted.

Kuja became more cooperative after he had grabbed the sides of the Gargant, his arms looping around the creature's neck in paranoia, not wanting to fall off during the ride. However his attitude changed slightly when he became distracted after Zidane climbed up behind him. He could feel the blonde's body pressed close against his own. When he felt the other's arms loop around his own waist, he felt a little more secure in riding the giant insect beast. He relaxed against Zidane and closed his eyes, pressing his head against the Gargant's shoulders.

Zidane noticed this change in Kuja, and gently nudged the older man with his tail, which curled up around the other man's thigh.

"After this I wont make you ride another Gargant bareback again. Okay?" he reassured.

Kuja simply nodded, keeping his eyes closed shut. "Let's just go already…." He groaned.

Zidane nodded and looked to the Gargant to see if it had finished eating. It was a few moments later before the Gargant had finished devouring it's flower snack and hissed, beginning to crawl up the vine towards the top. It was a little slower, but that was only due to its new passengers.

Kuja clung to the creature when it began moving, feeling somewhat sick to his stomach. He wasn't sure what was worse, the creature's smell, or the fact that he felt like he was going to be thrown off.

They were nearing the top by this point and it was apparent. The closer they got to the top of the tree roots, the brighter it got. From there, on the Gargant, it was a straight shot up. The giant insect's speed began to increase as it crawled up the roots, which in turn, made the ride a bit bumpier for it's passengers.

Kuja whined a little, but otherwise was doing rather well on the trip up. Zidane found it hilarious, but kept his mouth shut for the most part. He didn't want to invoke any womanish anger from the mage.

It wasn't much longer, and they finally came to the top of the tree roots. The brief introduction of blinding light from the sun above sent Kuja and Zidane both into a brief groan of pain. However they recovered quickly enough, as the Gargant stopped, finding some yellow flowers at the top and beginning to munch. This was the genomes' cue to dismount the beast.

Zidane helped Kuja off of the Gargant and pulled him up onto the top of the root. Surprisingly the Gargant had taken them farther than they originally had thought. They were within walking distance of the Conde' Petie Mountain path, just along the edge of the Lifa Tree's roots. Kuja groaned, whining more concerned that he wasn't any dirtier than he was, or making sure the Gargant didn't leave any residue on the mage. Lord forbid if Kuja was going to smell like one of those things.  
Zidane smiled, patting the Gargant on the top of the head, then stood back a bit to take in the scenery before him. The Lifa Tree had drastically changed. Not just that the mist was gone, but the roots that used to stick out and form a path to the tree trunk, were now all collapsed, which created a crater around the trunk. The tree itself wasn't in such bad condition, however the foliage at the top of the tree was beginning to wilt away. It was as if the tree itself was dying.()

"Wow…." Zidane mused.

He just stared for a bit longer, somewhat amazed. His attention was brought back to him when the mage began whining again. He looked down to see Kuja fiddling with a buckle on his thigh high boots. He simply rolled his eyes and turned, glancing around. He noticed the Conde' Petie Mountain path not far from where they were. If they could manage it, perhaps they could reach Conde' Petie itself by nightfall. That's if Kuja didn't slow them down with his griping.

He turned back towards Kuja now, mildly irritated.

"What are you doing?"

Kuja Grunted in frustration, fiddling with the strap and buckle a bit more. He whimpered and hung his head. He stayed silent like that, sulking for a few minutes. Finally he straightened his posture, standing to look at Zidane with his own irritation and grief.

"The strap is broken…" He said quietly. "…My skirt is torn. My Armor is busted, my sleeves are ripped, I'm covered in dirt, my feet are sore -and no doubt have blisters, my hair is filthy and has developed split ends, and my nails are broken-"

Kuja was cut off mid rant, as Zidane stepped up to the older man, reaching out and slapping the man across the face. Zidane furrowed his brows slightly in mild irritation and just stared hard at Kuja.

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself. You're a man. Start acting like one." He said sternly. He hated saying it so coldly, but he couldn't keep listening to this self-pity.

Kuja just blinked at Zidane with weary and tired ice blue eyes. He was utterly miserable. His pride had been broken long ago. What stood before Zidane wasn't the proud mage he had fought days before. This was a broken man. Half naked, filthy, and beaten down. Zidane would admit he was irritated with Kuja at the moment, but he found himself pitying the poor man more than anything. Zidane could see the tears of misery welling up in the corners of his eyes. The blonde sighed and pulled the older man into a soft embrace, and Kuja broke down.

Sighing, he rubbed Kuja's back reassuringly, his tail curling around the other man's waist.

"I'm sorry I hit you…" He paused for a moment, soothing Kuja's long platinum hair. " I promise when we get to Lindblum I'll buy you a whole new wardrobe. Okay?" Zidane soothed, trying to calm the other man.

Kuja remained silent, choking back sobs at this point. He had managed to contain himself, but still leaned against Zidane. He didn't want to look at the other. He was ashamed of himself. Disgusted with himself.

Zidane pulled away, but still held onto the mage's hand.

"Common… Conde' Petie Mountain path is just ahead… If we start now, we can probably make it into the village by nightfall." The blonde coaxed, squeezing Kuja's hand softly.

Kuja nodded and kept his head bowed, simply following closely behind Zidane as the blonde turned and began to lead him off, leaving the edge of the Lifa tree's roots and heading off towards the mountains. Crossing the dry wastelands to get there…

End of chapter 5

Author's comments:

It's taken me close to 4 months to actually finish this chapter. As sad as that is, it's true. I'm sorry for such a long wait, but I've had a lot going on in my life. In any case I hope the wait was worth the while, and you've enjoyed this chapter. Gomen once again. ;;

() Okay yeah. I used the different spelling this time. Xx Be happy.


	6. Conde' Petie

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi in later chapters. Thank you all for the reviews! I thank you for being patient with my updates. Thank you so much for everything!

Chapter 6.

It was mid-day and it was very hot out. The sun was high and bright, and strangely enough it was rather humid out today. The Conde' Petie Mountain path was no different than it usually was. However the ogglops hopping along the trail path had seemed to double in quantity. The bugs in general were especially bad. Perhaps from the ocean humidity blowing off the coast into the mountains. It normally kept the mountain path cool, but today was unbearable.

Zidane looked off to the west, noticing dark clouds on the horizon. Perhaps It would rain later. Then again the blonde never was one for being able to tell the weather clearly. He remembered Freya was always good at that. He smiled to himself as he reminisced about the travels he had with all of his friends. Steiner, Vivi, Freya, Armarant, Quina, Eiko, and… Queen Garnet. He folded his arms behind the back of his head as he stared up at the sky, walking. He wondered what everyone was up to. They were probably all worried sick about him. Steiner probably just assumed Zidane dead. The blonde could picture the Pluto Knight trying to convince everyone of the thief's demise.

He chuckled at the thought, grinning to himself as he shook his head, stretching his arms about himself. He could only imagine what kind of denial Eiko would be going through. The others would probably think it true and except the fact, but…. What about Garnet?

The beautiful Queen. Did she even miss him? The blonde shook his head. Of course she did. That hurt look she gave to him on the airship as they took off, leaving him just at the edge of the Lifa Tree. That was a look of hurt, concern and loss. Did she think he was dead too? The blonde really didn't know what to think really. In All the time he had spent with her, and gotten to know her… In all actuality… He didn't know her mind that well at all. He didn't know how she thought. Especially about him. Certain things he could predict about her, but for the most part. How did she feel about him in the end?

The blonde sighed to himself. Would he ever know? He cared about Garnet deeply. He truly did, but he wondered sometimes if it just wasn't meant to be. She was a Queen now, and all his chances of ever hooking up with her, were pretty slim as it was. He was a thief. A brilliant thief mind you, but still a thief. Steiner would never have it anyways. The man practically treated her like one of his daughters.

The reality of the whole thing, was that Zidane didn't think anything would work out anyways. He began to reflect on his own thoughts though. Did he really love her? He liked her, that much he knew, but did he truly love her? That was something even he didn't really know for sure. Then there was the question of… Did she love him?

Zidane snorted to himself. This is one of those times it was difficult to pick the woman's brain. With the way she treated him and his advances, he'd just assume she hated him. She might have, but Zidane didn't put it at hate. He was probably more annoying to her, more than anything. She seemed to care about him at some points. Like when she had come to his aid in battle at Pandemonium.

However she could have just done that because he was a comrade. Because they were a team. Nothing more. He sighed to himself. Who was he kidding? The only way he would really know is if they had a long talk about it. That was one of the first things he was planning to do, after he had taken care of Kuja that is… He wanted to sit down and have a long heartfelt conversation with the woman whom he was pinning for, to find out the truth. He wanted to know if there was a possibility of a future with the Queen of Alexandria, or if all his advances had been in vain.

His thoughts were interrupted by the silence behind him. He furrowed his brows and looked back to see Kuja treading along. The mage was staring off at the scenery the mountain path had to offer, lost in his own thoughts for the most part. He had been generally quiet since they had left the Lifa Tree.

Zidane stopped and watched Kuja for a moment. Kuja ended up walking right into Zidane, as he was not watching where he was going. He grunted, startled and this brought the mage back to reality. He grunted looking at Zidane. Obviously mildly irritated.

"What? Why did you stop?" He snorted, somewhat irritated.

This put Zidane at ease and the blond sighed with relief and smiled. " Nothing. You were just being really quiet. I'm glad to see your feeling better though." With that he turned around and kept walking, leading Kuja on down the path.

The mage grunted furrowing his brows. " What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's not important." Zidane yawned a bit, looking up at the sky. It wouldn't be much longer and they would reach Conde' Petie. Zidane figured it would be another hour or so. His stomach growled slightly and he blanched. He was hungry. He could wait until they got to Conde' Petie, but there was a slight problem. Zidane reached into his pockets, fishing around for Gil. He paused, stopping as he pulled out some Gil.

Kuja watched him blankly for a moment, stopping as well.

Zidane counted the Gil and winced slightly.

"We don't have a lot of money…" Zidane stated. He looked at Kuja briefly for a moment. He was almost skeptical for a second. He shook his head. " I'd ask if you had any Gil, but from the looks of it… A Thief couldn't rob you if they wanted to."

Kuja's eyes widened and he growled in offense. " I'm worth more money than you could possibly imagine! I have a palace and a mansion in Treno! How dare you-"

"Yeah. You're worth more than me now, because you have a bounty on your head probably. I don't suppose you carry Gil on you though?"

Kuja was silent. Zidane sighed and nodded, having expected as much and sighed, continuing to walk down the path. Kuja furrowed his brows following Zidane. He blinked when the Blonde took a side path that went off down to a Stream. Down below was a pair of werewolf like monsters. Kuja gasped.

"Zidane what are you doing!"

The blond blinked, looking back up at the mage before he continued further down. "I'm going to go kill that monster there and earn us some Gil." The thief proceeded down to a ledge just over the monster's head. He then dropped on top of the creature, knocking it down, then winding up in a battle.

Kuja was mildly confused at first. Why the hell DID monsters carry Gil in the first place? It was one of those weird facts if life that monsters carried Gil. Kuja always wondered why and never understood, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and went with it. It was kind of like one of those curious thoughts: Why are moogles always in some convenient place?

It didn't take long for Zidane to finish his battle. With a few slashes from his dagger's blade, it was over in the matter of minutes. Kuja peered down from where he was standing, watching as the beast fell to it's knees, face first into the water. It's carcass almost instantly began to rot, and Kuja could smell the beast's foul stench from where he was standing.

The mage groaned, backing away from the ledge, as Zidane began climbing back up with his prizes in hand. Zidane was mildly puzzled when he saw the disgusted expression on Kuja's features. He tilted his head to the side and blinked his big aquamarine eyes.

"What?"

"The… Smell. God… How can you stand it?"

Zidane shrugged and pulled himself up onto the ledge now, standing, brushing himself off. He put the handful of Gil back in pocket, and the two potions he had obtained form the battle in a pouch he had strapped to his belt.

" After spending months and months of traveling, you run into monsters quiet frequently. I'm used to battles." Zidane paused for a brief moment looking Kuja over for a second.

"And… Since you don't have your Magic anymore, I might have to train you in."

Kuja blinked blankly at Zidane. Kuja couldn't picture himself as being so barbaric as to actually have to carry a weapon. Magic was so much gentler and came so naturally to Kuja. It was a graceful art form in itself. Kuja had at one point in his life carried a weapon to defend him self when he first got to Gaia, but then he learned how to use magic and began developing his own abilities. The thought of having to use one again felt so alien to him. The again… after everything that had happened to him, Kuja would rather not have to fight at all.

Kuja just blankly watched as Zidane continued down the trail, pausing when he saw another monster grazing. He smirked and then whipped out his daggers and dove at the beast with fast quick agility.

Kuja grunted.

"You just killed one!" He didn't see the point in killing another monster. Then again Kuja had an amusing thought. Another poor traveler walking down the Mountain path only to stumble across a trail of monster corpses.

Zidane finished the battle as quickly as he had started it, stuffing more Gil into his pocket. However he didn't receive any other items, but that was okay. The thief blinked, looking back at Kuja now, furrowing his brows.

"Earning more money, Kuja. It takes more than 300 Gil to have enough for a room at an Inn, food, supplies..." Zidane paused for a second and looked Kuja over. "…And clothes too."

Kuja blushed slightly. He wasn't a very modest man, but he didn't enjoy walking around the wilderness half naked. It was uncomfortable. More than that, he was a little suspicious of Zidane, the way the blonde would occasionally cast a glance his way when he thought Kuja wasn't looking.

"How much farther is Conde' Petie?" Kuja asked.

Zidane looked ahead of the path and then looked at Kuja stretching as he put his daggers away finally. "Not much farther. It's just up ahead."

Kuja nodded as Zidane turned, and the two continued off down the path, Zidane stopping occasionally to battle a monster or two.

It was a half hour later before they actually reached Conde' Petie. It was indeed how Zidane remembered it. Just as noisy from outside of the dwarven village as it is within it. Smoke rising from the chimney tops, most likely from those in the village that tried to cook. However cooking wasn't necessary for the dwarves because of the Black Mage village not far from them. The black mages did all their business with the dwarves, as it was the closest village to them to do trade with, and the dwarves were not human either. So that was another benefit to the Black Mages.

Zidane had indeed debated on going to the Black Mage village, as Zidane figured they could get a means of transportation to get back to the Mist continent. However with Kuja in his company, doing anything would be hard. He didn't have to worry about Conde' Petie though because the dwarves had no recollection of what had been going on outside their village, nor did they know who Kuja was. They wouldn't care one way or another. They seemed delighted to have outsiders most of the time.

Zidane reminisced about the last time he had been here. He and Garnet had gotten 'married' in order to leave the village and continue on to the so-called 'sanctuary.' He had been shocked when Garnet suggested they actually go through with the ceremony. However it had been even more amusing when Vivi and Quina had gone through the ceremony together.

The blonde snickered to himself, which earned him an odd and questioning look from the platinum haired mage. Kuja simply shook his head and peered at the village. He had been here once…. But that had been many, many years ago. He had only stepped inside the village briefly, and then left. He didn't remember much about it afterwards, and neither did he now.

Zidane and Kuja walked up to the twin guards at the back entrance of the village and Zidane gave a cheesy smile, waving a little. "Hey guys!" he said.

This didn't get much of a reaction from the dwarves. They just looked at each other then back at Zidane and stared at him blankly. Not moving. This didn't appear to be the reaction Zidane had hoped for. He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head down to look at his feet for a moment. It was apparent he was thinking hard at this point. "Shoot… How did it go?" he muttered to himself, scratching the back of his head. Finally it came to him and he smiled, giving a high wave.

"Rally-Ho!"

Both twin dwarves smiled and gave a friendly greeting, raising both arms into the air to shout their welcoming.

"Rally-Ho!" they both exclaimed. One of the dwarves recognized Zidane and scratched the back of his head, looking at Kuja out of confusion.

"Tis bien a long'n time sins ya first weent ta da Sanctuary, laddy. But ah doon't remember yer lassy look'n so dern pale." The dwarves English was difficult to understand. Then again, most of them butchered their pronunciation when they spoke, but Zidane managed to figure out what they were saying just fine.

Zidane looked back at Kuja and chuckled, seeing the horrified expression on the older man's face. He turned back to the twin guards and shook his head, shrugging. " Ah well… She saw...Um… A ghost?" Hoping it would satisfy the dwarves and they wouldn't ask any more questions.

And sadly, it did. The two dwarves pulled Zidane aside and gave him their sympathies about his "girl" suddenly becoming so scared she literarily turned "white." It was amazing they even remembered Garnet to begin with. But it was even more amusing that they thought Kuja was Garnet. Considering Kuja was taller and distinctly different looking. Then again… The dwarves weren't that bright to begin with.

Afterwards, Kuja and Zidane were allowed to enter the Village, after saying the proper greetings at the door. Which was ridiculous in Kuja's mind, but he went with it anyways…

"My god… Were those the village idiots? Or are the ALL like that?" Kuja whispered into Zidane's ear, somewhat horrified.

Zidane shook his head and snorted. " Hey now, be nice… Those were the twin guards, and for your information yes. Everyone in the village is like that. Some are brighter than others, but I suggest you keep your mouth shut. You don't want to offend anyone while we're here."

Kuja just kept quiet, narrowing his eyes slightly. " I was only asking…"

Zidane looked around for an Inn, but didn't find one right away. He ended up going to the main general store and walked up to the counter, asking the dwarf where an Inn might be for the night. To their luck, the two genomes were lead to a small area in the corner of the village, on the second floor. There was an inn in the very corner, over looking the valley below, out towards the southeast. Zidane could see the Black Mage village from there.

A small dwarf woman lead the two men into their room and left them to be, letting Zidane know he could pay her in the morning. Zidane nodded and the woman left. Meanwhile, Kuja had made his way to the window, staring out, his ice blue gaze grazing across the land. He sighed heavily then walked over to the bedroom and froze in the doorway.

"…Zidane?" Kuja called out from the bedroom.

Zidane blinked, shutting the door behind the woman as she left and tilted his head to the side. "Yeah Kuja?" he asked, walking over towards the bedroom.

Kuja turned looking at the other genome from the doorway. "Zidane… There's only one bed."

Zidane furrowed his brows and stepped into the bedroom, looking over Kuja's shoulder. He sighed, quietly cursing to himself a bit. "…They figure we're a couple. That's why there's one bed." Zidane shrugged, walking away and into the other room, sitting down at a little table and beginning to count the Gil they had earned.

Kuja seemed mildly bewildered and somewhat insulted.

"What? What gave them that impression?"

Zidane sighed looking up at the mage from where he sat. "The 'Sanctuary' is in the direction of the Lifa Tree. Whenever there is a newly wed couple in this village, they are sent to the Sanctuary on a honeymoon of some sort. In order to get to the Lifa Tree the first time, we had to go through ceremonies in this village in order to go on. They probably figure you're my wife."

Kuja's eyes narrowed. " Your… Wife!"

Zidane quirked a brow. " Well… You do look like a woman." _And you act like one too_. Zidane thought.

Kuja glared at him more out of annoyance than anything. Sighing he shook his head and walked to the bathroom of their room and sighed. "…. I'm taking a bath." And slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Zidane to ponder what might have offended the Mage this time.

By the time Kuja had finished his bath it was already dark out. Stealing a robe from the closet in the bathroom, Kuja stepped out into the room, pulling the white robe tightly closed. He flipped the light on, seeing Zidane wasn't in the room. He furrowed his brows, figuring the Blonde much have gone into the village for something. No matter. He walked to the window, pulling up a chair and sat down, staring out at the starlit sky. The moon was coming up at this point as the sun had probably set a while ago.

Combing his fingers through his damp hair, he sat there, pondering to himself. What exactly did Zidane plan to do now? Zidane had successfully rescued him from the Lifa Tree and saw to it that Kuja would survive, but now what? Zidane had mentioned Lindblum. Did the boy intend to actually take him there?

Brushing a lock of feather soft platinum hair out of his eyes, Kuja sat there, staring off. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. Even if Zidane brought him to Lindblum, he would have to hide Kuja. People know who he is and there was no doubt going to be some problems if people knew he was alive. For the most part, it was a wiser if Kuja didn't go out in the public, in his opinion anyways. If he did he would probably be beaten, kidnapped and lynched by a mob.

Another interesting thought came to mind though. More than anything, how would Zidane's comrades react? They would most likely want to kill him. The new queen would probably have him arrested by that buffoon for a knight. Kuja figured because of what he did was so inexcusable; they wouldn't even give him a proper trial. Not that he deserved it anyways. Kuja would be happy with a quick death to get it done and over with.

Would he really though?

The mage began pondering to himself. He himself had indeed noticed he had changed a lot. He rebelled in the first place because he wanted to live. He didn't want to die. Wasn't that because he was afraid of loosing his soul? Even if he did have one, like Zidane said, he would probably burn in eternal torment for the things he did in the first place to achieve that life he so desperately wanted. He practically did sell his soul to the devil in the first place, and it made him sick.

Kuja's thoughts were interrupted though, when the door slid open and in walked the younger blonde. He just stared at Zidane for a moment through weary and drained ice blue eyes, his long platinum hair falling into his gaze, framing the older man's soft features.

Zidane paused for a moment, peering at Kuja, his cheeks flushing softly. His aquamarine eyes seemed to meet with those ice blue ones, staring contently. They stayed like that for a short while, just staring into one another's eyes. Zidane found himself drowning in the ice orbs, as Kuja became somewhat distracted and lost in Zidane's soft ocean ones.

"I… Uh…." Zidane broke the silence, his voice quiet. Almost instantly, the older man diverted his gaze, looking off out the window again for a split second. He then looked back to Zidane and quirked both brows.

"Where were you?"

Zidane nodded some, coming back to reality as he held out some of the items he was holding. He walked over to the table a few feet from where Kuja was sitting, and set down two small boxes. He then held out a soft cream colored bag to Kuja, almost as a peace offering. Kuja, furrowing his brows, took the bag hesitantly then peeked inside, his eyes lighting up a little.

"I didn't know your size so I kinda guessed. Oh- and I know the color isn't something you'd probably go for, but they didn't have much variety in the shop. I just grabbed what I thought you might like out of the picks they had. It's not much, but it's better than walking around in those rags of yours." Zidane commented, scratching the back of his head.

Kuja smiled in Zidane's direction. "Thank you… Oh- what's in the boxes?"

Zidane blinked. "Oh! That would be dinner. I didn't know what you'd like there either. So I-"

Kuja smiled. A genuine smile. For as hard and cold as the older man could sometimes be, this smile suited Kuja. It wasn't his famous evil smile, or giggling grin. It was a real smile. "Thank you Zidane… It smells wonderful."

Zidane nodded, grinning back.

Kuja set the bag with his new clothes down off to the side. He would look at them in the morning, for now he wanted to enjoy just a quiet evening. Despite the fact that he felt like he should be punished for his crimes and be put to death for all that he had done, he felt somewhat grateful to the blonde. Zidane had been harsh and cruel at a few points… But all in all, the blonde had been so kind and thoughtful to the mage.

Pulling his chair up to the table, he opened one of the boxes and peered down at the food before him. It didn't look that great, but the Mage hadn't eaten anything in days. He was starving, and he wasn't going to turn down a good meal. Even if he could be stuck up at times- food was food.

Zidane pulled up a chair as well and began to chow down too, practically inhaling his meal. It disturbed Kuja greatly, and made the mage frown and scold Zidane on his table manors. Otherwise the genomes' dinner was peaceful and quiet.

After they had finished their meal, Zidane groaned, rubbing his stomach and yawned, looking at the clock on the wall behind him.

"It's late…" Zidane inquired. He watched as Kuja got up from his chair and walked into the bedroom, plopping down on the bed. Zidane blinked briefly then frowned, getting up and following Kuja, pausing in the doorway of the bedroom. "…How are we handling the sleeping arrangements?"

Kuja yawned, curling up on one side of the bed, clutching a pillow. "We'll just have to share I guess." He said sleepily, his long platinum hair falling in waves across the pillow, creating a halo beneath his head.

This resulted in a blush from Zidane, but it didn't bother the blonde too much. The younger genome shrugged and then shrugged off his blue vest, pulling his white shirt up off over his head. The weather was still unbearably humid and warm outside and of course, there wasn't any fans of any sort in Conde' Petie, so they would have to suffer from the heat.

Kuja didn't even seem to notice Zidane stripping, and began to fall asleep where he was. A soft bed was quite nice compared to the last few days of sleeping on the ground.

Finally, Zidane turned off the lights and crawled up onto the bed as well. He was a bit hesitant at first, considering Kuja was only wearing his robe. Then again… it covered more than Kuja's thong and armor. The blonde moved closer to Kuja on the bed, more or less so he wouldn't fall off, and found himself a little closer to the mage than he ever thought possible, or ever wanted to begin with. He mentally cursed the dwarves for doing this to him.

Kuja's lips parted slightly in his sleep as his lashes fluttered slightly. His breathing was soft and his skin glistening in the dim moonlight. With the way he lay just perfectly, every lock of hair glistening and his smooth pale skin seeming to glow under the lighting, Zidane found it suddenly very difficult to sleep.

He was tired, but he couldn't help but watch Kuja for the most part. Then he began to take back those harsh thoughts and intents towards the dwarves… at this moment, he thanked them for their mistake, because it gave him an excuse to lie beside this… Angel. As he watched Kuja he smiled to himself weakly.

Kuja deserved to live. Fate had given him a hard life from the start, and Kuja deserved to start over. Some way… Some how… Zidane was going to make that happen for the older man, and deep down in his heart he truly believed…

Perhaps there were second chances for an Angel of Death…

End of chapter 6

Author's comments:

Ha… I put this chapter together in less than a day or so. Wow. I'm proud of myself. I guess I need to have time and motivation to actually sit down and do these things though. Man. I think it's gonna take awhile before this story actually gets to the juicy parts. Hope you people are patient.

Ha ha… Yes I like how I pulled this chapter to a close. MUWHAHA! It's so grand… Anyways yeah. 


	7. Tough Choices

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and naughty sexy man loving.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be JUICY yaoiness later. I might have a bit of a teaser in this chapter- Opps I said too much . Anyways thanks for all the reviews!

Chapter 7.

The sound of rain hitting the roof and the windows, made a soft pattering noise. One window in the bedroom had been left open a little, letting the soft sound of rain echo through, as well as the cool breeze that it brought. A soft thunder echoed in the distance, and the rain began to fall a little harder. The relaxation of it all drifted through the bedroom, relaxing the two genomes that were laid out on the one bed, cuddling together.

Zidane was deep asleep, his head tucked in a little, one arm tucked against his chest, the other draping over his waist, his hand resting on his stomach. The blonde genome's soft golden blond hair had come loose of it's pony tail, and the thief's shoulder length hair fanned out beneath his head, his bangs falling into his eyes, casting a sweet and almost innocent appearance on the boy. It suit him very well.

Kuja on the other hand, was slowly waking up from a very arousing dream it seemed. His soft ice blue gaze was slightly hazy, and so everything was blurry for the moment. Sometime during the night his robe had slipped down his shoulders, leaving them bare. Perhaps because the humidity in the village. That wasn't the case anymore however, as the mage cooed softly, closing his eyes a bit as he took in the sensation of the cool breeze from the window, blowing across what skin was exposed.

He sat up a little and stretched his arms, mewing a little as his tail uncurled to stretch as well. Once his vision came to him, he looked down at his current bed partner and tilted his head to the side. Feather soft locks of hair fell into his view, but that didn't stop him from studying the younger genome's features.

He found himself entranced as he stared at Zidane. They way Zidane's lashes fluttered slightly when he was dreaming, and how soft sighs would escape his soft, perfectly shaped lips as he breathed when he slept. Kuja's eyes grew hazy again as he just watched the blonde… In his mind, Zidane was more than just kind to him… Zidane himself was a gift…

Not being able to control himself, and becoming lost in the moment, slowly… Kuja leaned down, hesitant for a moment, before claiming the younger man's lips in a soft, affectionate and gentle kiss. Slowly, his eyes slid closed and he found himself drowning in the moment. Granted it was he who was stealing the kiss, it had been such a long time since he had touched anyone, or in return had anyone touch him for that matter. Kuja craved the touch, and moved to a more comfortable position, throwing one leg over Zidane's lap, and straddled the younger man, parting his lips slowly.

Zidane moaned, his brows furrowing a bit as his lashes fluttered lightly. His dreams had changed drastically at that point. From a dream of a battle shifting into an erotic dream, the blonde found himself indulging in it. Parting his lips to speak, he found his invisible partner take advantage of the situation, exploring the warm cavern of his mouth, tasting him, savoring him, and teasing his soft lips.

Not being able to hold back, Zidane responded to the kiss, fighting back playfully for dominance over the kiss, nipping at the other's bottom lip. In response, Kuja moaned, reaching out with one hand to roam his fingers slowly through the thief's golden blonde locks of hair, sensually stroking the other's hair affectionately. For Zidane this was turning into a good, good dream.

Kuja mewed softly, rocking his hips down against Zidane's lap, his robe sliding further off the shoulders, revealing his soft pale flesh. The mage was becoming more stimulated by the moment, as one hand moved to slide down Zidane's bare chest, roaming his fingertips over the younger man's body, memorizing every inch of skin he could. Zidane's skin was soft to the touch, and it seemed the mage couldn't get enough, and deepened the kiss, moaning a little as he pressed his own body closer.

Zidane gasped a little, biting the other man's lip softly, his eyes beginning to flutter open. It was too sensual, too erotic, and way too real to be just a dream at this point. He couldn't make out who was on top of him at first. But the silhouette of a willowy figure and beautiful hair was all he needed. His memory wasn't working for him of what happened the day before, so He figured some beautiful woman had decided to come wake him up in a pleasant manor. It certainly was working.

Breaking the kiss, the older genome trailed his lips down along the blonde's neck, seductively nibbling up to his earlobe, biting playfully, which caused Zidane to groan, rocking his hips upwards into the body above him in reaction. This sent an electrifying chill through the mage as he moaned, rocking his hips harder down against Zidane's now. It was apparent they were both aroused, and Kuja wanted more. He had no control over what he was doing; it was all pure, raw, sexual instinct. And believe me, the mage knew he was deprived.

Frowning a little Zidane stopped, groaning a little, to look up at the person above him. He blinked rapidly. That moan was feminine enough, but it didn't sound like a woman…. His vision eventually came to him, and when everything became clear, Aquamarine eyes went wide with shock and horror. His jaw dropped slightly as he just stared.

Kuja sat up on Zidane's lap, a sensually erotic moan/mew escaped his lips as his tail entwined with Zidane's, causing Zidane to twitch and gasp at the sensation. However Zidane's tail managed to unwind from Kuja's and the blonde looked up at the platinum haired man and whimpered. The way Kuja's robe was falling off his shoulders and exposing his chest, made the feminine mage irresistible. However Zidane could not believe this was happening in the first place.

"K-Kuja s-stop." He breathed heavily, his cheeks flushing a bright pink in color.

Kuja stopped almost instantly at hearing Zidane's voice, and his own cheeks flushed a soft pink. His eyes were closed and he kept it that way, frozen. He couldn't bring himself to look down at Zidane at the moment, but he did stop as requested.

Panting, the blonde managed to regain some composure, not sure how to deal with this situation. He could shove Kuja off of himself and run to the bathroom for a cold shower, but that would only cause tension between them for the rest of their trip. Zidane tried to think, not sure how to deal with this situation. This was awkward. He couldn't honestly say he'd ever been in a situation where he almost started to have sex with his ex-nemesis.

"My apologies…" Kuja whispered, his entire body tensing. "…I got carried away-"

"No. Uh… Don't…. Don't worry about it." Zidane cut the other off. He didn't need to hear any excuses. Half of it was his fault too. Zidane was actually enjoying it. The thought mildly disturbed him, but he blamed the fact on that Kuja looked like a woman so it was easier to cope with.

Pulling away, Kuja crawled off of Zidane and sat at the end of the bed, his hands in his lap, staring down at them, blushing. He clearly had overstepped himself somewhere. He honestly did loose a little control. Then again, Kuja was usually like this in the mornings anyways. He remembered the second day down in the Lifa Tree. He had woken up to Zidane trying to shimmy down his body to get out of the root cage. At the time, Kuja had found it extremely arousing, the way Zidane shifted his body this way and that, almost purposely grinding against Kuja.

However the mage knew better. This time… It was pure sextual need and desire. He didn't have much to use for an excuse. He could mentally picture himself now, telling Zidane: _" Sorry about that. I haven't had sex in awhile. Mind if I vent my sexual frustration out on you?"_ He mentally groaned to himself. What the hell was wrong with him? He should have known better, Zidane had a thing for the new Queen of Alexandria anyways. Sighing he reached up, running a hand through his long platinum hair.

Zidane slowly got up from the bed, his cheeks flushed. He crossed his arms over his chest a bit as he looked at Kuja. "Hey… Uh…" Either way it got Kuja's attention and the mage looked up at Zidane. "Lets just pretend this didn't happen okay? I'm not mad… I just don't want this to happen again… Okay?" He said, trying not to hurt Kuja's feelings too badly.

Kuja nodded in agreement. He had almost the exact same thoughts. However… he didn't know if he could forget this. The way Zidane felt against his lips, under his touch, or underneath him in general… Such soft skin and silken gold hair. How could anyone forget such perfection?

Zidane smiled weakly and stretched, blushing a bit. He wouldn't be able to forget either, but he was going to try. Sighing he turned and walked to the bathroom to take that cold shower he had promised himself 5 minutes ago, and waved to Kuja.

"I'll be out in 15 minutes. I suggest you get dressed. As soon as we're ready, we're heading out." As he disappeared into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

……….

After Zidane was successfully pleased with his cold shower, he emerged from the bathroom, walking back into the bedroom and grabbing his shirt and vest, sliding them on with ease. He combed his fingers through his damp hair and stretched, even his tail. He sighed and looked around, not seeing Kuja in the bedroom. He walked out, after collecting the bag of Gil and his dagger on the dresser, and paused in the doorway of the bedroom when he saw Kuja by the window. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wandering up and down the mage, in his new outfit.

Kuja turned when he heard Zidane and smirked, posing by the window. " What do you think?"

Even if the thief didn't know the mage's size, he seemed to be a natural when it came to guessing.

Kuja's new outfit consisted of extremely form fittingly well soft black leather pants that rode a little low on the hips, matching with Kuja's thigh high leather boots, which he salvaged from his old outfit. To match, was a pale violet long sleeved under shirt, and a black leather short-sleeve tunic that laced up the back, and was left open in the front, except for one hook that kept it half closed. For the most part the whole outfit was Kuja. Form fitting, and black and violet. Colors that suited him well.

Zidane was speechless. "Wow. It suits you- definitely."

Kuja smiled a bit then wrinkled his nose. "…I don't like the black though. It's too... I don't know. I just don't care for it."

Zidane snorted. "Aren't you picky… Think of it this way: Your in mourning for the loss of your magic." He smirked.

Kuja glared. "That's not amusing."

Zidane chuckled and strapped the dagger and bag of Gil to his belts and then collected a backpack of potions and other items he had purchased in the village and handed it to Kuja. " Here, since your no used to me on the battle field in a fight, you can carry the potions and stuff." Zidane grinned cheekily, as Kuja just snorted at him in annoyance.

……..

Finally the two headed out, leaving the Inn. Zidane paid the innkeeper and then the two were off once again.

As they were leaving the village, Kuja couldn't help but stop the blonde and ask.

"Where exactly are we going next?" Kuja had his arms crossed over his chest, bewildered as to where they would go from Conde' Petie. They didn't have an air-ship, nor did they have a Boat. Where would they go and what would they do? It was obvious Zidane wanted to go to the Mist continent, but he wasn't sure how they were going to get there.

Zidane stopped as well, crossing his arms over his chest, one hand reaching up to rub his chin thoughtfully. He looked off just to the southeast towards the forest. He then glanced over his shoulder to the east just beyond the cliff towards the entrance of Fossil Roo. This was indeed a tough decision. Actually, it was going to be difficult not for Zidane but for Kuja. This was more or less a decision Kuja had to make.  
Looking back at the mage he grimaced a little out of pity.

"Actually Kuja…. I'm going to leave this up to you. We have two choices of what we can do…" He sighed heavily, not sure if he even wanted to try and explain either option to Kuja. He knew the mage would hate them both. "We have the option of going southeast to the forest where the Black Mage village is, or…" He paused, noticing the wince Kuja made. "…We can go east just beyond the cliff to the entrance of Fossil Roo, which is an underground passage to the Mist continent." Zidane said, leaving out the part about the Gargants… for now.

Kuja blinked a bit and took this into thought. " Fossil Roo seems easy enough."

Zidane sighed and decided he would be kind and fill Kuja in on the hidden problem. "Fossil Roo would indeed be the best, and easiest rout to take. Not to mention it would be the most convenient in keeping you hidden… However there's one tiny little detail I left out…" Zidane took a step back, as so Kuja wouldn't smack him when he told him that tiny, 'little', detail.

Kuja furrowed his brows slightly, knowing full well he probably wouldn't like it. "And that is….?"

"Fossil Roo is only travelable through means of using Gargants."

Kuja's brow twitched in irritation. He did feel like smacking Zidane now. "Your kidding…"

Zidane shook his head. " No, I'm not. Y'know, they're not that bad really… And yes, I know I said you would never have to ride one again after the first time… but…" He scratched the back of his head some, watching Kuja. "That's why I'm leaving this choice up to you."

Kuja seemed to inwardly groan as his arms dropped to his sides limp, his head tilting back as he stared up at the sky, mentally sulking. _Someone up there really, really hates me. _Sighing he looked off towards the southeast forest then glanced to Zidane. The black mages… He wondered. "Zidane, the black mages couldn't be all that bad could they?" Then he stopped to think about what he just asked. Before Zidane could even say anything, he waved the blonde off and sighed shaking his head. "…Never mind."

"If you were to walk into that village, it would be like the devil walking into heaven. You would be better off just gritting your teeth and dealing with the Gargants. The less people that know you're alive, the better. The black mage village doesn't have just black mages anymore. Most of the population of Terra and Bran Bal is living there now." Zidane said, walking over to reassure the older man, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kuja groaned, burying his face in his hands. "What better way to announce my presence, but to the people who's homes I've destroyed, and lives I have ended since birth…." Kuja felt like a knife had been just shoved into his stomach. He felt absolutely horrible. He definitely couldn't go there.

He didn't want to ride Gargants anymore either. He despised the damn things. They were big, ugly, creepy, and smelly. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He wasn't sure what he could do at this point. It was being mauled by a mob of black mages and genomes, or riding bareback on a giant bug.

He whimpered, beginning to pout.

"Death would have been so much nicer. I'm not sure if hell would have been better or worse."

End of chapter 7

…..

Author's comments:

DUN DUN DUN! And that's where I'm leaving it. Yes, I know I'm evil. But I want to leave you people hanging as to what happens next. Does he go to the black mage village? Or does he decide to ride the smelly Gargant? TUNE IN NEXT TIME! And I don't think it's gonna take so long for the next chapter either. I already have ideas for that one. 


	8. High seas

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and sexual content

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be Yaoiness later. Beware- this chapter is REALLY freak'n long!

Chapter 8.

It was two days later since they had left Conde' Petie, and it was early morning. Another night of sleeping on the ground had been unpleasant as usual, but the two genomes had managed to survive some how. The sun was just coming up beyond the east plain, and it was difficult to travel with the sun in one's eyes.

Kuja sighed, wiping his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. It was too hot to be wearing what he was, which is why he had taken off his tunic. He just waned to get back to the Mist continent as fast as possible and not have to deal with any more humidity. At least the temperatures on the Mist continent were bearable. Then again, Kuja had lived on this particular continent in the first place, but then again he lived in his palace, which was cool most of the time not because it was concealed by magic, but because it was underground.

He looked to Zidane to see that the blonde was fairing rather well despite the heat. Then again Zidane wasn't wearing as much as Kuja was anyways. So the blonde was probably keeping cool that way. Either way, the platinum haired mage was hot. He just wished there was some way to cool himself down.

He wasn't sure why he chose their path this time. He wasn't positive on why he even choice this direction to begin with. It would have been faster had he gone the other way, but then again would it really have been all that much better? It might have been worse. He contemplated to himself on his decision. He was stuck with two choices he didn't like all that much. In his opinion, Kuja chose the worse of the evils. Zidane had seemed pleased with his decision though. So the mage couldn't complain too much.

He wasn't looking forward to what was ahead though, and Zidane knew that too. More or less Kuja was screwed either way, but he figured whatever got them to the Mist Continent faster was better. So… The most logical choice was obvious.

"Hey, Kuja… Look. It's just up ahead. We're almost there." Zidane said, pointing forward, turning to look at the mage with a smile on his face.

The older man looked ahead, blinking a bit. He squinted then nodded and sighed, wiping at his brow again. After a moment, Kuja grunted with major annoyance and threw his tunic down on the ground, and then pulled off the backpack with the items and set that down as well, stopping where he was, obviously irritated with the heat.

Zidane stopped, confused and turned to look at Kuja. " What are you doing?" He blushed when he saw Kuja pull his violet shirt up off over his head, rolling it up and shoving it into the bag, along with the leather tunic. He couldn't help but stop and stare, aquamarine eyes wandering over the older man's beautiful, willowy build, and perfectly graceful skin. Mid thought, he quickly looked away. " Your going to get a sun burn if you do that." Zidane retorted.

Kuja snarled, not wanting to have to argue at this point. " Shut your trap you lousy brat!"

Zidane blinked, jumping back a bit, not having expected such a lashing. "W-what? What'd I say?"

Kuja hissed a bit. " I'm hot and tired, and my feet are sore. I can do whatever I damn well please." Kuja looked around then sighed, standing where he was. He relaxed his entire body and closed his eyes, holding out his hands outstretched towards the sun.

Zidane was mildly confused at first, but his eyes widened as he watched Kuja begin to chant. Orbs of light began to form from the ground at Kuja's feet and small balls of light turned to bubbles as they began to rise. Zidane grew alarmed by this very quickly.

"Kuja! You shouldn't try to use your magic!"

Kuja's brow furrowed in annoyance as he glared at the blonde with his eyes closed, but for the most part he ignored Zidane. He winced as a sting of pain stabbed at his mind a little. It certainly was getting harder to use his magic that was for sure. It meant Zidane was correct in what he had said.

His eyes snapped open as he completed the spell, which had seemed so difficult to summon, and shortly afterwards a large orb of water appeared above Kuja's head- then suddenly dropped onto the Mage, showering him in almost a wave of cold water.

Gasping at first from the shock of cold water, he stood there, completely drenched, his ice blue eyes wide from the shock of such cold after such heat. He shivered a bit, then smiled, giggling to himself. He reached up, running his fingers through his long damp hair and purred, more or less happier with the success of his spell.

Zidane just stared blankly at the older man then chuckled shaking his head. He smiled weakly then and just stared at Kuja with gentle eyes. He just… couldn't take his gaze away for a moment. The way Kuja looked half dressed and drenched. He blushed a little and looked away finally after a moment and cleared his throat to get the other man's attention.

Kuja slung the backpack over his shoulder, leaving his shirt off for now, just enjoying the slight breeze against his cold damp skin. He walked over to Zidane, his damp hair falling into his eyes. Zidane looked over, and nodded sighing a little and shook his head. _What will I do with you? _Of course the blonde had to dismiss the question as an answer came just as quickly. _More or less… What do I 'want' to do with you? _Blushing, he continued walking, leading Kuja on.

"You shouldn't use your magic so casually-"

"Zidane, shut up."

The blonde didn't want another verbal assault so he kept his mouth shut for the most part. It was indeed Kuja's magic after all. The mage was going to have a harder time when he wouldn't be able to do anything. Kuja knew that as well as he did, but the blonde kept to himself and allowed the other to do as he pleased for now. What little he did have now, was all he had in the end, if nothing at all. He would let Kuja savor what abilities he had left.

The two continued on though, and after awhile Kuja began to get hot again. He would have tried another water spell, however he was feeling a little tipsy and weak from that last attempt. He probably wouldn't do that again for some time.

Looking again, the mage saw they were getting closer to their destination and sighed. His decision between the Black Mage village and Fossil Roo had been difficult, actually. He and Zidane had sat for a while and tried to figure out what would be the best choice of action.

Deciding he didn't want to be beaten and hung by the Black Mages and other Genomes, he also decided he wasn't ready to even deal with the prospect of atoning for his sins with them just yet. If it was anyone who deserved to deal with Kuja it was indeed the black mages. Then again, Zidane wasn't really ready to give Kuja up just yet.

Along the way, they stumbled across some monsters and Zidane decided they could earn a little extra Gil, and charged head on, taking out a few cactaur with a few quick slashes. This left Kuja only to stand there in awe. For the past few days, the two of them had managed to admire one another quite easily, learning new things the other hadn't known before. In a way they respected each other to some extent. However the eyes of both genomes seemed to wander along one another from time to time, which was creating an interesting tension between them at times.

Neither Kuja nor Zidane had mentioned what had happened in Conde' Petie, and that's the way it would stay, but the mage found himself wanting to bring it up again. He wanted to know how exactly Zidane felt? Kuja at first got the feeling of rejection… But every time they slept next to each other, or Zidane held him, the mage got the feeling the blonde was a little more willing that he was letting on.

This intrigued the mage. Kuja was always one who was up for a challenge, or to achieve the impossible. He was curious and he wanted to know how Zidane honestly felt. However he wasn't going to force the blonde into anything he didn't want to do… Kuja had that nagging curiosity at the back of his mind.

Finally they came to their destination, and Kuja sighed, looking at the entrance to Fossil Roo. He grimaced a little and sighed, then looked to Zidane. He was not looking forward to riding more Gargants.

"How safe, exactly, is this cavern passage?" Kuja asked, looking at the dug out entrance, which looked more like a cave than anything else. He didn't know if he could trust Zidane's word on this. He was sure the little spider monkey would climb through mud and slime just to save the world. Kuja on the other hand, wouldn't. Ha. Then again he did try to destroy the world, didn't he?

Zidane scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "After the Lifa Tree's roots went crazy, there might have been some cave-ins… I'm not sure. I do know for a fact it's a little more dangerous monster wise. Some mist might still exist down here, there for there are monsters. I want you to be very careful and follow behind me closely, okay?"

Kuja frowned a bit and looked at the entrance again, slipping on his violet shirt on over his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hmm… What if there was a cave-in and the tunnel is blocked completely?"

Zidane shrugged his shoulders. " Even if there was a cave-in, there are a lot of treasure hunters that hang around this area in general. You'd think they would have cleared the tunnel by now anyways. We can only hope for the best, I guess." Zidane slapped on that smile he was best known for, and usually got him into trouble. Marching ahead he began humming to himself.

Hesitant and doubtful, he heaved a sigh and followed Zidane down into the dark underground passageway….

They didn't get very far after they entered the cavern. Sure enough, the worst possible situation was a horrible reality. Perhaps worse than what Zidane had originally thought. Indeed the passageway had caved in. Except worse- it was flooded.

Standing near by was a crew of treasure hunters, blowing their hammers to the walls, trying to build a dam or bridge so they could at least get a little further in. One man was directing them, as other men were moving boxes and crates towards the entrance of the tunnel where Kuja and Zidane had just come from.

Kuja looked at Zidane, furrowing his brows.

Catching Kuja's glance, he turned and walked over to one of the men.

"Excuse me sir… What happened here?" The thief asked, his tail swaying from side to side.

The man in charge turned around and looked at Zidane. He was a gruff looking man with a hard helmet and a pick in his hand. He had what appeared to be silver teeth, which was completely odd, but Kuja brushed off the disgust he had just by looking at the large and rather greasy man.

"What do you think happened here? The walls began moving a few days ago and the ceiling caved in, and because the ocean is directly ahead, it flooded!" The man seemed annoyed with Zidane's lack of common sense, and to be so stupid as to ask 'what happened?'

Zidane flinched then sighed. " Is there any other way through to the Mist continent?" he asked, hoping, praying there was another way. He didn't want to have to back track all the way back to Conde' Petie to spend a night only to go to the Black Mage village to watch Kuja get slaughtered.

The man laughed. "Are you kidding? Just take one look and figure it out for yourself."

Zidane sighed, slumping his shoulders in defeat. It looked like they didn't have much of a choice. However Zidane looked up when the large man rubbed his stubbly chin in thought.

"If ya wanted to though, there's a cargo freighter just off the shore not far from here. The shore is about a 15-minute walk from here. Because of the cave in, we've had to ship as much of the treasure out as possible. Some of the things we've found down here are antique and we can't afford to have it damaged. We're just loading up the last of the Cargo now." The man said, scratching the back of his head.

Zidane and Kuja's eyes lit up almost instantly. Zidane nodded a bit and tilted his head to the side. "Where is it going?"

The man snorted shaking his head. " Your really dense. Old merchandise like this is only good on the Mist continent. Where else would we bring it!" It was apparent that the man was getting tired of Zidane's questions, and he himself was sweating from the heat.

"When is it leaving?" Kuja piped up.

"It'll be leaving in a little bit. If you hurry you might be able to catch a ride. There might be a fee, but you'll have to deal with the captain on that one." The treasure hunter chuckled heartily, but the noise he made, made Kuja wonder if the man would die from a heart attack.

"Thank you." Zidane turned to Kuja. " We'd better be on our way then, right?" Kuja simply nodded in agreement and the two headed out of the tunnel, rushing off in the direction towards the beach. It was good timing indeed. If they had decided to stay in Conde' Petie another day, they would have missed the chance and opportunity all together and would have wound up stuck on the outer continent.

Finally they came to the beach to see other men loading up a little cargo ship. Zidane sighed and then grabbed Kuja's hand, running with the mage towards the small ship. They saw another man ordering the others where to load the crates, and Zidane heaved a heavy breath when he caught up to the man and sighed, Kuja panting behind him.

The man turned around. This one was older and looked more like a captain, but he seemed to be pretty built for his age. Zidane gave the man a weak smile, releasing Kuja so the mage could throw up from being jerked around if he wished, and Zidane sighed.

"Are you the captain?" Zidane asked.

"Aye. That I am." He said, turning completely to face Zidane now, as the blonde had gotten his attention with all his hard breathing. He could tell the two had been running.

"Captain Sir, if you wouldn't mind… We need a ride back to the Mist continent. Since you happen to be going that way any ways… Would you mind just taking us with you? We don't necessarily care exactly where, we just need a lift. We've been traveling for days, and Fossil Roo is flooded. We have no means of transportation to get home. We're even willing to pay for the ride." Zidane explained, almost begging the man.

The older man rubbed his whiskered face in thought, as he looked Zidane over. He then looked at Kuja and quirked a brow, looking the mage over from head to toe. It was unusual to see someone so young with lavender tinted platinum hair. Not to mention so feminine and lush looking. Curious he looked to Zidane again and crossed his arms over his chest. "What're your names?"

Zidane blinked for a moment. " Oh. I'm Zidane Tribal… and this is…" He paused looking at Kuja. There was no way he could reveal who Kuja was. If anyone knew who he was by name, he definitely couldn't use the mage's real name.

"K." Kuja responded.

Zidane blinked at Kuja for a moment but went with it and nodded. "Yeah. This is my partner K." Zidane sighed with relief. It wasn't necessarily lying either. Way to go Kuja for using the first initial of his name. Zidane looked back to the older man in hopes they would allow the genomes a ride to the Mist continent.

The old man nodded some and waved his hand. " No problem. We just finished loading up the cargo, so feel free to board. However the ride doesn't come free. That will be 500 Gil." The old man said arching a brow.

Zidane's mouth dropped. " 500?"

The old man nodded some. "I got a crew and a family at home in Dali to feed."

Sighing, the blond pulled out the change pouch and dished out 500 Gil, and handed it to the man. The captain nodded and stepped aside, allowing Kuja and Zidane to board the little freighter. The captain's crew only consisted of two other men. Kuja was slightly disturbed when the man gave him suggestive looks, making the mage a little uncomfortable.

Zidane found a little area below deck where he and Kuja could spend most of their trip until they got to the Mist continent. He sat down on a crate, and stretched his arms, sighing a bit. Kuja was weary as it was and winced when he rubbed his shoulder. He pulled the collar of the shirt aside a bit and looked down. He indeed had gotten a bit of sunburn, just like Zidane had said.

"Geez… I think they ripped us off. That's 250 Gil per person. Most air-ship rides aren't even that expensive." Zidane griped his shoulders slumping a bit as his tail went limp at his side, the tip flickering ever so often.

Kuja shrugged a bit. " I'm more concerned about the crew. Zidane, did you even notice how they or the captain looked at me? Do you think they suspect something?"

Zidane shook his head. " I don't think so. I didn't notice anything odd either. Maybe your just imagining things. Then again, I don't blame you for being paranoid."

Kuja snorted in response and looked out the window. "It's not dark yet, but I'm tired." He positioned himself, leaning more comfortably against the wall, so if he decided to fall asleep he could.

Zidane nodded a little and sighed. " Yeah. Get some rest. Wouldn't be a bad Idea." He sat down on the ground beside Kuja's crate and laid out on the floor, yawning a little as he looked up at the older man above. "Well, sweet dreams then. I'll wake you when we get there." Zidane grinned cheesily, closing his eyes.

Kuja merely snorted and closed his own eyes, drifting off into a doze before actually falling asleep….

…

The sound of the crates creaking and the waves hitting the side of the small freighter woke the mage from his slumber. He coughed a bit and looked down seeing Zidane sprawled out on the floor, sleeping comfortably. He quirked a brow and sighed, shaking his head. He got up, careful not to step on Zidane and left the little room, walking up the stairs quietly up to the deck. He needed some fresh air, and stepping out to see the ocean might do him some good, or so he figured any ways.

Stepping out of the cabin, he stepped out onto the deck, sighing as the cool ocean air hit his senses. His eyes slid closed as he savored the peaceful breeze, reaching up and running his fingers through his long platinum hair. Looking around now, he walked over to the railing, looking out at the sea behind them. Curious to see where they were, he looked around and noticed that ahead of the little cargo ship looked at what appeared to be land. It was definitely the Mist continent and it wasn't that far off either.

Leaning against the railing, he smiled weakly, taking in the fresh air and the ocean tides rocking against the ship lightly. He had never been on an ocean ship before, and he could honestly say he found it relaxing. Then again when the Lifa tree still sprouted mist everywhere, the need for ocean travel wasn't necessary. Not with airships everywhere anyways. Also during the prime of his time, Kuja's silver dragon aided in much transportation. The need for ocean means was useless to him.

The mage furrowed his brows as his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the deck, and the added sound of malicious chuckling made a shiver run up his spine. He sensed two men stop behind him. He could feel a pair of eyes wandering over his body, and it made him tense.

Looking over his shoulder finally, his ice blue eyes seemed to narrow when the two crew members of the little ship stepped closer, almost trapping Kuja where he stood on deck. One man smiled almost sickeningly as he looked Kuja up and down.

"Say missy… How long has it been since you've had a good time?" The man's moustache was quite unattractive in Kuja's mind, and he shuddered in repulsion.

"Missy? Sir, I'm afraid you're mistaken; I'm not-" Mildly insulted that he had once again been mistaken for a woman, Kuja was cut off as the other man, a rather shorter, younger messy haired brunet, reached out to grab Kuja's ass with an oil greased hand.

"You're a real cutie. Bet you know how to work those hips, huh baby?"

Enraged at this point, Kuja's eyes narrowed into slits and the mage certainly had had enough. He shoved the one man away, ending up shoving the other man into the other crewman. Kuja glared coldly, backing away from the railing and backing towards the cabin.

"How dare you! You have any idea of who you're dealing with! I am NOT to be trifled with, you disgusting filth!" Kuja spat, sneering some. Never in his life had anyone so low or disgusting dared lay so much as a finger on him. The bristles of his tail flickered as he glared sharply at them. His entire body tensed. So enraged, to the point where the mage began trying to summon up enough energy to cast a thundaga spell.

However to Kuja's horror, the only thing he could muster was a few sparks of electricity. That was about it. His eyes went wide as he stared at his hands with mild horror. How could this be? During the most crucial time he needed his magic most it wasn't even possible. He inwardly cursed himself for casting a water spell earlier. Zidane had been right. He had used his magic carelessly.

The older of the men grumbled, pushing his partner away from him as he took a step forward. " What the hell was that? I'd watch that tone of yours missy. You might just hurt my feelings." The man grumbled, advancing forward again.

The younger nodded in agreement and chuckled. "Nice attempt at a thunder spell. Hey Luc, I think she's a mage in training. How sad… Can't even conjure up a spell to save her life. Ha ha…" The brunet sighed and shook his head. "Then again, I like 'em feisty." He licked his lips, also advancing forward.

Kuja's eyes widened in alarm as he took a couple steps backwards towards the cabin, his arms out in a defensive stance. What was he going to do? What were these men doing anyways? Do they mean to kill him or something? And on top of everything…

"I'm going to say it for the last time… I am NOT a woman!"

The two men stopped for a brief moment, seemingly confused for a moment. The brunet looked to the older man, twitching. "Is… she? He…. Serious? No way. Too feminine to be a dude."

The older man shrugged and smirked beneath his disgusting moustache. " Either way… I think the captain owes us a raise. These passengers didn't pay a whole lot to begin with anyways. We're just collecting our due. Man or woman- doesn't matter to me." He lunged forward and grabbed Kuja roughly by the arms, shoving him up against the railing of the deck, pinning him there.

Yelping, Kuja squirmed violently, trying to escape. It was no use however, he was weakened and too tired from all the energy he tried to pull just to summon that thundaga spell- which obviously backfired. Kuja winced in pain and let out a soft cry of agony as his body was pressed into the hard railing of the ship. It hurt painfully. Kuja had never in his life been put in the position of a victim before. It was degrading and it hurt, more than anything. He did not want these men to go on with their intentions.

Walking over, the brunet smiled, leaning over the mage and crushing his lips on the platnuim haired man's, smirking a bit as he bit down hard on Kuja's lip, biting down and drawing blood. This caused Kuja to scream loudly, however most of it was muffled in the back of his throat.

The larger man managed to grab both of kuja's wrists and pinned them behind his back with one of the larger man's hands, his other hand moving down to grope the mage. He fondled Kuja for a bit before discovering Kuja's correct gender.

"Hey… It is a guy. He wasn't lying. No matter. As long as he looks like a woman." The hand slid back up and tore at Kuja's lavender shirt, brutally tearing it open.

Kuja whimpered again, his body shaking now, trembling with fear. These men were going to rape him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing. He couldn't use his magic and he couldn't scream for help. He was utterly helpless. His eyes slid closed as he felt himself on the verge of tears. However, no matter how much pain they brought on his weak and defenseless body, he would not cry. He was not going to give them the pleasure of his tears.

The brunet chuckled looking Kuja over, breaking away from his lips, licking at the blood. "What's wrong honey? Oh well. Don't feel too bad. I'm gonna make you scream so loud, you'll never be able to scream again…" He purred a sadistic smile twisting his face.

Just as the brunet reached for Kuja's pants, the bigger man went flying off the edge of the railing. He never knew what hit him. The brunet blinked stupidly looking over the railing to see his comrade splashing in the water, screaming, then spun around to see a glowing, very pissed Tanced Zidane.

Zidane's aquamarine eyes narrowed into slits, glowing as he raised his daggers. The brunet only heard the blonde scream before he hit the waters in a harsh splash, landing not more than 20 feet from the ship.

"GRAND LETHAL!"

Kuja fell to his knees, just staring up at Zidane in awe. So much strength and power… Kuja felt utterly powerless and pathetic compared to Zidane. He once had been so proud and powerful. Now he was degraded to practically subjecting himself to becoming a rape victim. Watching Zidane he leaned against the railing, his cheeks flushed and looking away. He couldn't make eye contact with Zidane. He was ashamed of himself. However the mage's attention was taken when the blonde walked over to him, dropping to his knees and placing both hands on Kuja's shoulders, pulling the older man's torn shirt closed and straightening Kuja's garments.

Zidane was still glowing and he smiled weakly at Kuja. " Are you alright?"

Kuja nodded meekly and sat there, shaking, not sure what to say or how to react. The whole experience since they had left the Lifa tree had been traumatic for the older man. He wasn't sure if he could handle any more stress.

Zidane seemed to notice this and stood, standing, the glow beginning to fade now. He left Kuja where he was, leaving the mage alone for a moment. He came back with Kuja's leather tunic and the backpack, and slipped the tunic over the platinum haired man's shoulders, and swung the backpack over his own shoulders. Zidane paused however when he heard puttering footsteps as the Captain had come to see what had happened with all the screaming. The Captain looked out over the railing and gasped when he saw his crewmates swimming after the ship.

Looking back at Kuja and Zidane with furry, the old Captain shook his fists. "What the hell- You two! Get the hell off my ship!"

Zidane blinked, his cheeks flushing. He quickly helped Kuja up to his feet. He looked back towards the Mist continent and notice they were several yards from shore. He looked to Kuja and grunted as the Captain came at them with his cane. He then grabbed Kuja's wrist.

"Looks like we're gonna have to swim."

Kuja's eyes bugged out. "W-what!"

Before Kuja could completely protest, Zidane Jumped over the edge of the railing, diving into the waters below, pulling Kuja down with him. He yelped and cried out " COLD!" but that wasn't really too surprising to the mage, because the water was indeed very much like ice.

It was difficult for Kuja to swim at first, because the shock of the cold water hit his body instantly, which sent him into violent shivers. However Zidane never failed to come to his rescue, and swam over to the mage, grabbing him and swimming directly for shore, not wasting a moment's effort.

Finally Zidane's efforts paid off, and he began dragging the mage up onto the shore. Kuja coughed violently, crawling now, his body soaking wet. He felt a little heavier, because of the leather he was wearing, but he managed enough strength to crawl up onto the beach, before finally collapsing, breathing heavily. Zidane managed to get to his feet in some miraculous way, and hugged himself, shivering harshly.

The blonde's survival skills managed to kick in however and he went to Kuja's side, shaking the mage slightly.

"Kuja, you have to stay awake okay? Try to move around if you can, otherwise hypothermia is going to set in. Whatever you do, don't close your eyes."

A little confused, Kuja groaned. "Hypo-what?" He couldn't help himself, as his eyelids began to grow heavy. He wasn't sure what was happening to him, but not only did he feel week, but the sudden blast of exhaustion from the last few days hit the mage, and they hit hard. His eyes fluttered for a moment and he groaned, before closing his eyes. "Rest… I just need a little rest." Kuja murmured.

Zidane shook him more this time. " Kuja! No! Don't close your eyes!"

However it couldn't be helped as the mage passed out, completely blacking out to the rest of the world….

…

End of chapter 8

Author's comments:

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm putting in way too much description. It's taken like… 8 frigg'n chapters just for Kuja and Zidane to get to Fossil Roo, and they still haven't gotten extremely frisky. **Grunt** what do you people think? I'm feeling bad for you guys because I don't want this to get too incredibly boring. I think in the next chapter I'll throw in a bit more friskiness.


	9. Safe Shelter?

Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and sexual content

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be Yaoiness later.

Chapter 9.

The sound of crackling and a soft roar was slightly fuzzy and faint in the back of the mage's mind, as the smell of smoke and burnt wood stung his senses. The air was warm yet cool at the same time, and other sounds began to register in his subconscious, such as soft rain hitting what sounded like the roof or top of the shelter above him.

Soft black lashes fluttered slightly as the genome struggled with the ability to wake up. In the back of his mind he knew he had to wake up, but that laziness still lingered in each limb of his dull and weak body. He felt warm and secure though. He couldn't quite place it, but it was that warm feeling of being held by someone who cared about you. He didn't want to leave this warm embracive and loving warmth. He wanted to stay there forever, just like that, with the soft sound of rain around him and the warmth from a fire and perhaps warm arms around him. He snuggled into that warmth, finding it difficult to so much as cuddle because he was sore.

However he knew it was time to wake up and come back to reality, knowing he couldn't stay there forever- as much as he wanted to.

Slowly, soft ice blue eyes fluttered open, a bit hazed at first, but eventually focused on what was in front of him. Above him it appeared to be the roof of a tent. He frowned a little confused, not sure where the Tent had come from. Lifting his head a bit he saw a small lamp in the corner, burning brightly, keeping the tent warm in the cool mid morning shower. It explained the sound of rain, and the warm and cool air… but it didn't explain the warmth.

Kuja heard a soft coo whispered into his ear as soft arms looped around his waist. He came to realization of who was curled against him noting that the two genomes' tails were entwined together yet once again. Relaxing, he nuzzled into the other body curled against him, closing his eyes again.

He also noticed, to his pleasure, that he and the blonde were both in their undergarments. More or less to dry out their wet clothes and keep them from developing hypothermia as Zidane would have realized. It was apparent the blonde had tried to hard to keep them both alive. Kuja gave the blonde a lot more credit than he originally had in the past. Zidane must have worked very hard indeed, having to drag Kuja all the way, set up a tent somewhere safe where there was no threat of monsters, undress himself along with an unconscious mage, hang up the wet clothes and put out a little fire in a lantern.

Just by looking at the blonde he could tell Zidane had drained himself with all the effort he put into their survival. Zidane deserved so much praise… Kuja couldn't understand why Zidane struggled so hard, when most people in his situation, would have given up from the start. Not Zidane however. Zidane fought until the very end. He was resting now and he deserved it.

The mage sighed, closing his eyes as he snuggled into the warmth, thinking back on earlier that night. Kuja had come closed to being raped by the Captain's crew, and that frightened him. Even more so: his lack of magic. This bothered Kuja greatly, granted he knew it had been coming. Zidane had warned him so. Especially when Zidane, earlier that day, had warned him to conserve his magic. Kuja had disregarded him, and when he had needed it the most, he couldn't use it.

Just remembering the looks they gave him, and how they roughly pinned him to the railing sent shivers down the mage's spine. However…. When Zidane showed up in his trance form, that was the true pinnacle of that moment. Zidane had always been powerful, especially as an enemy, Kuja had always considered him a powerful threat. Granted the first time Kuja saw Zidane again for the second time as a grown young man, the mage considered the blonde to be nothing more than a nuisance. But seeing Zidane in trance to defend the mage… it made Kuja shiver from the sheer power that radiated from the younger man.

Sighing to himself, he felt comfortable enough at this point and began to drift off to sleep, inhaling the other's scent for a brief moment, finding himself caught in sleep's grasp. He was tired enough anyways, and began to fall back into slumber, unconsciousness claiming him.

…

Once again the mage found himself waking once more. This time to the sound of rustling inside the tent. He furrowed his brows and his ice blue eyes cracked open. He glanced around before catching sight of the blonde thief and sat up, rubbing his head when he saw the blonde packing up their items into the backpack, along with the fold up small lantern, and a blanket.

He eyed the blonde, noticing he had gotten dressed already and Kuja sighed, reaching for his own clothing. Surprised that it was dry already, he slipped his lavender shirt on over his head and glanced at the blonde with curiosity.

"Zidane….?" He asked, somewhat lazily. It was apparent he had just woken up and he was still indeed very tired.

The blonde jumped, mildly startled, not having heard Kuja get up. He glanced over his shoulder to see the mage, who was indeed awake and looking a lot better than he had last night. However Kuja was still pale from the whole incident and Zidane couldn't blame the man, after they had swam quite a ways in freezing cold waters. He was thankful that Kuja looked better though. At least a little…

"Good morning." He smiled lightly.

Kuja blinked, feeling a chill run down his spine. He reached for the leather tunic, slipping it on, as well as his leather pants and boots, getting dressed, while eyeing the thief. "I wanted to say thank you…" Kuja said quietly. How many times had he thanked Zidane since the blonde had first come to his rescue in the Lifa tree? Kuja most likely had said the word one too many times for his own liking.

Zidane smiled. " Your welcome." He said it softly full-heartedly.

His aquamarine eyes rested on the mage for a few moments, before the younger genome turned around again to continue packing things up. Kuja handed him his blanket and Zidane packed that away as well. After Zidane was finished inside the tent, he stepped outside, motioning for Kuja to come out as well as he pulled the little stakes out of the ground.

Kuja crawled out after Zidane, taking a few steps back and away from the tent as he watched the blonde tear the thing down with one simple gesture. Kuja quirked a brow at this, noticing that the tent was no good anymore, as the thing was only a temporary shelter anyways.

Standing on the other side of the tent however was a moogle. Kuja jumped in mild surprise and shock as he hadn't been expecting the little fluffy critter to just be… Standing there.

"What the-!" Kuja gasped, staggering back a little.

The moogle wrinkled its nose at Kuja frowning a bit. "How very rude, Kupo!" The moogle snorted, then hobbled over to Zidane. " Are you done with your tent, Kupo?" The moogle asked, tilting its head to the side.

The blonde simply nodded, walking to Kuja's side and handing the mage the backpack.

The moogle wrinkled its nose again and nodded, it's little wings beginning to flap rapidly as the little creature became air born, fluttering a foot off the ground. "Call me again when you need me, Kupo!" And then the little creature fluttered off into the distance, the tent's remains beginning to glitter and glow as the object faded from existence.

This got Kuja's attention as the mage tilted his head to the side in curiosity and confusion. He wasn't going to bother asking, as Zidane probably would go on and on about explaining it. Kuja didn't care to understand how or why either. Sighing he looked around their surroundings. The tent had been set up in a small passageway between the mountains. It was a little valley of grass, and a rather good place to sleep hidden between the mountains, as the monsters couldn't find them easily in the dark. Looking off to his left he could see the ocean off in the slight distance. He figured Zidane had carried him at least half a mild before setting up camp. The mage was slightly astonished by this, and blushed a bit looking at Zidane. The blonde wouldn't admit to doing anything, so there wasn't a point in accusing the blonde of any miraculous deeds.

Besides all that, Kuja looked to his right, seeing an open plain for miles. He wasn't exactly sure where they were. However he did know they were on the mist continent.

"Zidane… Where are we?"

The blonde blinked, looking at Kuja now after having seen the moogle off. He looked like a deer in headlights for a brief moment, not positive on how to answer that. He looked at his feet for a moment and scratched the back of his head. "Well…"

Kuja knew with an answer like that, he knew it wasn't good. He groaned to himself and sighed, staring up at the sky for a moment. "Spit it out Zidane. Where are we?" Kuja hadn't a clue, it could have been anywhere, but it obviously wasn't a good place. Not for Kuja anyways. The mage prepared himself for the worst. Although in all honesty, he couldn't believe it would have been a worse fate than perhaps the Black Mage village would have been.

The blonde inhaled a deep sigh and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Kuja with a sympathetic expression before looking down again, his tail swaying from side to side at his feet, as he shuffled the dirt with his foot. "Burmecia…."

The mage paled a bit in reaction. Burmecia? The silver haired man groaned, closing his eyes as he knelt down, not trusting himself to stand at this point. He felt as though he was going to be sick. Clearly, somebody up there hated him. Why did they have to end up in Burmecia, of all places? Kuja would have rather stayed on the outer continent, and took his chances with the black mages.

Burmecia was like throwing the man to the wolves. Of all the regions of the mist continent, Burmecia had to be the worst country to be present in. The mage knew well that getting through this country would be difficult. More than difficult almost damn near impossible. Trekking through a country that you had single handedly brought down to its knees, was never a wise idea. In this case, they didn't have much of a choice.

"Zidane…" The mage breathed. " You're joking…. right?"

The blonde didn't even make eye contact. He knew… oh he knew all to well. It wasn't just the people of this country they had to worry about… It was also the terrain and weather. Kuja would be absolutely miserable and Zidane knew that Kuja's self loathing would only get worse. Much, much worse. The blonde began to have second thoughts. Perhaps he should have escorted Kuja straight to his former desert palace and left him there to be a hermit? _No. No, that wouldn't be right. _He thought to himself.

Shaking his head and sighing the blonde reassured the mage of his fears.

"No, unfortunately I'm not. We are west of Cleyra in Burmecia. I suggest that we not go anywhere near Cleyra or the Capital city. Cleyra, to be more exact. Regardless, traveling through here is gonna be tough. Especially for you."

The blonde had set a plan out already of what they would do already. He would just leave the decision up to Kuja. In reality they had a few choices once they reached their first location.  
The exasperated reaction he received from Kuja, was as expected. The older man stood finally, his head bowed in his depression. Nothing ever ended. It kept going on, in his mind.

"The agony doesn't seem to ever end. It's an ongoing repetitive stabbing to the soul." He sighed looking to Zidane, after gathering what composure he had left. He looked pained, knowing what kind of world he was walking back into. He would greet the faces of those whom homes he destroyed, families he had torn apart, and some causalities that he had caused. Closing his eyes Kuja hissed, trying not to think about it. He knew how well his mind would take every bit of information and twist it to the extremes. He covered his eyes with his hands for a moment and leaned forward as if he was trying to grasp himself again.

Zidane could see the inward struggle Kuja was having to remain composed and not loose it. He smiled weakly walking over to the other man to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Kuja was so much more fragile than he had originally realized, since they had begun their journey from the outer continent.

Sighing, the blonde looked off to the east, where they needed to head, furrowing his brows a bit as he stared in contemplation.

"Our best shot is to head south east, and go through Gizamaluke's Grotto to get to the marshlands. From there we'll decide what to do. If we can make it to the grotto by tomorrow night, we'll be doing very good."

"By tomorrow night?" Kuja furrowed his brows slightly. "Can't we make it tonight? It's not that far, is it?"

The blonde quirked a brow and snorted at the mage. "Not unless you can catch us a chocobo. I'd catch one myself, but I have no greens. No greens, no chocobo. No chocobo, means we walk." Zidane stated, heading off deeper into the Burmecia country, allowing the mage to follow as he wished.

Kuja followed after, grunting at the blonde. Quite honestly, was it that hard to catch a damn bird? He decided he didn't want to find out or try. He'd had enough 'new experiences' to last him a lifetime.

…

The Sun was far from view behind the darkening clouds as the morning ran on into the afternoon. They had made many miles in the amount of time they had traveled since waking that morning, and the two genomes were famished and fatigued. Burmecia was large and open plains between the mountains. Nothing but grasslands as far as the eye could see. There was no longer mist on the continent, but it still rained in this country, which made it difficult to travel by foot. Even chocobos had issues on occasion, due to occasional storms that would arise. The only part of Burmecia, which was drastically different, was the perimeter of Cleyra; desert sand.

Oddly enough Cleyra happened to be within view for the two now, but it was of course still a few miles off.

Looking to the sky Zidane squinted. He didn't get the feeling it would just stay cloudy. He had his suspicions that a storm was coming soon, but he dismissed it and hoped they could get as far as t hey could and pitch a tent and stake out for the night.

Kuja on the other hand, didn't have a clue to these sorts of things. He was sore and cranky now, more or less upset that his feet and legs hurt, than his self-brooding. It was a better change for the mage of course, instead of constantly worrying about your past sins, worry about something trivial such as your wardrobe, hair, or soreness. It brought a smile to Zidane's face. At least Kuja was acting like himself at times like these. It also gave the blonde hope that the older man wouldn't loose himself completely to his despair.

The thief of course wasn't exactly the strongest person in the world either. He had to admit that the last several days of traveling had worn him out as well. His feet were literarily killing him, and his knees were beginning to make 'popping' noises when he walked. He figured they would give out soon if they didn't get a break soon. However looking the way things were with the weather, he wasn't sure they would get a break yet. Not for awhile.

Zidane's stomach growled and he whimpered a bit. "Urg…. I'm hungry." He finally gave up and gave into his weakness and started pulling a Kuja stunt and began complaining.

Kuja snorted at Zidane and furrowed his brows. He would have flattened his ears had he been a cat. "You're hungry? I'm starving. I don't think we've eaten anything since Conde' Peti."

The blonde nodded some and sighed bowing his head as they walked on. " Yeah, and I think we lost some of our food stuffs when we jumped off the boat… All I could retrieve was the backpack, which has tents and a few potions and elixirs in it."

The mage wrinkled his nose in disgust. " We're basically at square one like we had been when we were in the Lifa Tree."

"Basically, only it's not as hot, we're closer to our destination, and it could possibly rain soon."

Kuja groaned and stopped, gripping his head. " I'll be frank with you Zidane. This whole situation just… Sucks."

The blonde chuckled, smiling a bit as he looked back at Kuja. He stopped and walked over to the mage grinning at him. "Yep. Sure does."

The older man just blinked at the blonde for a moment, whom was smiling cheesily at him. "You buffoon." Kuja snorted, trying not to laugh. He found himself smirking, shaking his head a bit.

Yeah, it made the mage want to laugh. The situation did suck and they both knew it. They lacked energy due from lack of food, sleep, and rest. It was kind of funny how they always seemed to run into bad luck, and having to choose what to do about it. It was torture, and Kuja wouldn't be surprised if they lost their minds before getting to civilization.

Kuja smirked and shoved Zidane away from him and kept walking, producing a chuckle from the blonde.

The two continued on, walking for at least two more hours. They reached the outskirts of Cleyra now, and were close to passing by the entrance. However Zidane grunted when it began to sprinkle lightly. Lightning flickered in the distance, as it wasn't far off. He stopped now, taking the backpack off and setting it down for a moment, to rub his sore shoulders. Kuja stopped shortly behind Zidane and just stared at the remnants of Cleyra…

The once proud city of Cleyra had sat amongst the proud branches of the tree, which once stood in the center of the small desert in Burmecia. In it's wake sat half of a giant burned tree stump, the city gone and all that was left was roots and remnants of the bottom half of the large tree sister to the Lifa tree.

It was black like coal, and in plain view. Nothing was left, and Kuja knew this. For he had been the one to destroy what was left of the once proud race.

Becoming pained again he looked away and back at Zidane. "Lets keep going… I've seen enough-" But the mage was cut short when he felt the sprinkles of raindrops begin to dot his skin as well as the ground. Lightning flickered again, as the sprinkles became raindrops as a soft light rain descended upon them. Kuja sighed and pouted.

"I swear this is Garland's revenge. He's just pissed his dog got off the chain." He rubbed the temples of his forehead and groaned.

Zidane sighed as well and looked up at the darkening clouds above then to Kuja. "You were more of an ankle biter to Garland, no offence. You could say he got annoyed and drop kicked you."

Kuja glared sharply at Zidane for that remark. He wasn't some little ankle biting little dog! His pride took a giant stab with that insult. Kuja was not that weak… was he?

The blonde picked up his bag again and slung it over his shoulder. "Come on. We have to find shelter." He stated, starting to head towards Cleyra.

This however did not sit well with the mage and Kuja called after Zidane sharply. "I thought you said we should stay away from Cleyra!" he snapped, standing his ground. The thief of all people should understand the mage and why he didn't want to enter.

"Kuja I know your suffering, but we don't have a choice. It's going to be an all out storm pretty soon. I don't see any forests around or anywhere else that would provide wind protection. Cleyra is our only option."

The older man frowned some whimpering. "Zidane you said we should avoid Cleyra and any inhabitants of Burmecia." He tried to argue a loosing battle.

This made the blonde frown now as he stopped to face the mage. " Kuja! Take a good look! Do you see ANY inhabitants? I don't think you need to worry about it. Now stop whining and follow me!"

Kuja felt as though he had been stung with the venom of Zidane's words. He knew Zidane was right, but he didn't have to be mean about it. Turning back around, the blonde continued his way to Cleyra, allowing the mage to follow in suite. He flinched and ran after the blonde, following cooperatively as the rain grew into a heavy down pour.

Zidane lead the mage into the trunk and eventually found a clear area out of the wind. The ground was sandy of course and there was little rain in this area due to the trunk and it's massive size. Zidane figured it was dry and safe enough to at least set up the tent out of the wind, so he set the pack down and began pulling out the tent pieces and began constructing the little tent. It popped up and was available for use within seconds, and left Kuja in awe and amazement.

Zidane took the pack and crawled into the tent, assuming Kuja would follow. However the mage simply stood outside the tent for a moment watching the rain and lightning. He shivered as he looked around the hollowed out trunk of the tree, which held the proud race of people, which once thrived, in the city that used to be. The initial thought that he had brought this city to ruin made him shudder in disgust. At the time he had no remorse for the lives he destroyed, and nor did he care about those who would be affected by it. He had always figured the people of Gaia to be weak and disposable. However Zidane had proven him quite wrong.

The people of Gaia were very strong. Perhaps more so than the people of Terra. In reality, the genomes were weak and helpless. How Garland figured them to be a superior race was beyond him. At the time, all Kuja could think about was manipulating this world to his whim, just so he could kill Garland. The old man did deserve it he figured. Having gone through years of torment and neglect, he figured it was only suiting to destroy his maker.

Zidane interrupted the mage's thoughts as he popped his head out of the tent and frowned, waving for the older man to come.

"Hurry up. I know this place looks dry for now, but just wait until it really starts to downpour!"

Sighing, the mage wandered over to the tent as Zidane disappeared into the tent, all thoughts of past regrets leaving the mage for the moment. However something caught Kuja's eye as he took a quick glance over his shoulder… Not more than 30 yards away was a small fire ring. Nothing but charred firewood, and ashes. The embers looked like they had died not long ago when it had started raining. Glancing around the older man became slightly more alarmed as he felt he was being watched. He quickly dove into the tent and shivered, crawling to the Blanket neat the back of the tent and wrapping it around himself.

The blonde couldn't help but notice the other man's sudden nervous behavior and snorted squinting a bit as he began to light the lantern, setting it in the corner.

"What's wrong now?" He sighed with annoyance.

"Zidane, someone was here recently."

The blonde looked somewhat unsure of the mage and sighed shaking his head. " Look, Kuja- I don't think you have to worry-"

"Zidane, there's a fresh fire pit outside. Someone was here before us. Look outside if you don't believe me."

Zidane frowned slightly his eyes narrowing. He could tell Kuja wasn't lying due to the nervous expression from the mage. He crawled to the opening of the tent and peer outside, he noticed the fire pit and blinked. He tied the opening of the tent closed and sighed. Looking back at Kuja he suddenly had an uneasy feeling as well. Due to the current storm they couldn't just leave.

"Get some rest… Whoever it was, is gone now."

The pale man sighed and closed his eyes lying down as he curled around the pillow. The blonde couldn't help but feel sorry for the man, and crawled over to Kuja, curling up next to him.

"Don't worry, we'll leave first thing in the morn-"

The sudden sound of a scuffle startled both genomes and Zidane sat up sharply furrowing his brows, Kuja's tail becoming bristly.

"What was that?" Kuja whispered.

Zidane narrowed his eyes his own tail becoming bristly. Reaching for his dagger, he sat up, reaching over and also turning off the lantern with his other hand. He motioned for Kuja to be silent as he listened intently, looking around for a shadow of anything outside the tent. Looking back to Kuja he said quietly, but almost harshly.

"Someone's out there."

End of chapter 9

Author's comments:

WOW! YEAH! Okay, I know I haven't updated in like… FOREVER. But I've been very busy with Anime conventions, Drawing requests, Websites, and Even world of warcraft. (Note: Never EVER play MMORPGS. They suck your soul away!) But I haven't forgotten you guys. If you wonderful fans hadn't kept sending reviews I probably would have forgotten this fic. But thankfully getting a review everyday and threatening me with a fiery poking stick, has kept me going. Oo

Heh. I kinda feel bad about leaving you guys with a horrible cliff hanger last chapter, but eh. This chapter isn't really different… god, I know one of you is going to hunt my ass down and like… tie me to my chair and make me write.

Again I'm sorry if this chapter is too short. I was trying to make it a longer one. And I promise I'll try to get the next chapter going a little faster.


End file.
